'ALL AMERICAN' TEEN STAR ATHLETE DEAD AFTER DEPRAVED 'SEXTORTION' SCAM

Summary

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Episode: “'ALL AMERICAN' TEEN STAR ATHLETE DEAD AFTER DEPRAVED 'SEXTORTION' SCAM”

Original Air Date: December 15, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this powerful and emotionally charged episode, Nancy Grace investigates the tragic death of 15-year-old Bryce Tate, a star athlete and beloved teen from Cross Lanes, West Virginia, who took his own life after falling victim to a ruthless sextortion scam. Drawing on harrowing real-life stories from grieving parents, experts in cybercrime, and legal professionals, the episode underscores the growing prevalence and devastating impact of online sexual extortion targeting teenagers. The discussion balances raw grief with practical advice, powerful warnings, and a call to action for parents, educators, and authorities.

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Main Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Bryce Tate Case: Anatomy of a Sextortion Tragedy

• [02:23-04:06]
  Bryce Tate, a 15-year-old sophomore and star basketball player, receives a message on social media from someone posing as a 17-year-old girl from a nearby school.
• The scammer, after establishing rapport by referencing mutual friends and school activities, manipulates Bryce into sharing an explicit photo.
• The tone shifts immediately from flirtation to blackmail: the scammer threatens to circulate the photo unless Bryce pays $500.
• Overwhelmed and unable to comply, Bryce receives a barrage of over 120 threatening messages in less than an hour. Feeling isolated and desperate, he takes his own life.
• Notable Quote:
  "It's just too much for a young teen, especially a very naive young teen, to take in. And now this boy. A boy is dead." — Nancy Grace [04:06]

2. The Ripple Effect: Other Heartbreaking Cases

• [04:48-07:01]
  Interview with Jennifer Buta, mother of Jordan Demay, another victim who died by suicide after a sextortion scheme. Jennifer details how her son was pressured and then encouraged by scammers to end his life.

• The episode recounts the stories of other teens—Timmy Barnett, Gavin Guffey, and Jay Taylor—who suffered similar fates.

• It’s emphasized that sextortion is a growing, systematic threat facilitated by organized criminal gangs, sometimes operating overseas and using advanced technologies.

• Notable Quote:
  "He was begging for his own life. And when he was worn out and could not go anymore and said he would take his own life, they encouraged that. And in the middle of the night, my son took his own life alone." — Jennifer Buta [30:26]

3. Understanding Sextortion: Tactics & Impact

• [12:45-14:27]
  Sextortionists conduct research via social media, exploiting any information a victim or their parents post.
• They "bombard" victims with messages, making constant threats to reveal explicit images to friends and family, pushing teens into a state of panic.
• Scammers may use AI and chatbots for initial engagement, then escalate to intense, human-driven abuse.
• Notable Quote:
  "The operation is to put him in a state of panic so he can't do anything but act in an irrational way to where he doesn't have time to think. He just acted." — Melissa McCarty [13:25]

4. Why Teens Are Especially Vulnerable

• Teens’ brains are not fully developed, limiting their ability to process the situation rationally, especially under stress and shame.
• There is a critical communication gap: many teens believe disclosing to parents will lead to punishment or more shame, not support.
• Notable Quote:
  "They need to know that they can come to you at any time and let you know about bad things that have happened. And you're not going to smack the phone out of their hand or ground them for a year. Because to your point, it is not better to die by suicide than to have to fess up to this shameful and embarrassing decision." — Titania Jordan [11:48]

5. The Scope and Sophistication of Online Predators

• [39:16-40:07]
  These systems are organized, sometimes run by international criminal rings (e.g., the 764 network), and actively involve thousands of concurrent scams.

• Some groups demand not only money, but torment children for their own sadistic enjoyment, instructing them to self-harm or recruit siblings.

• Notable Quote:
  "This group, 7-6-4, and then oftentimes request them to upload pictures of the cuts and if it's not deep enough, they'll ask them to cut deeper. I mean, it is completely sadistic, Nancy, as to what's going on." — Joe Cunningham [39:27]

6. International and Gender Perspectives

• Cases span the globe and affect both boys and girls.

• Amanda Todd’s story is mentioned: a girl extorted and bullied after an explicit photo was spread by a Dutch perpetrator.

• Perpetrators operate internationally, in some cases coordinating campaigns from distant countries; sentences for such crimes don’t always fit the devastation caused.

• Notable Quote:
  "Even people that are influential and prestigious, their children have died at the hands of these online hyenas that are literally tearing at the flesh of our children." — Nancy Grace [45:51]

7. Parental Responsibility & Digital Footprints

• Much of what scammers use is gleaned from social media—a child's, their friends’, or even parents’.

• Advice:

  • Avoid public-facing posts about children.
  • Don’t let children have public accounts.
  • Delay social media access until the teen is older and more mature.

• Use technological tools (like Bark) to monitor for signs of self-harm, predatory behavior, or sexual content.

• Notable Quote:
  "Good kids make bad choices. Smart children are being fooled every day. The FBI has reported that sextortion is a crime that we all need to be paying attention to. And it's time for parents wake up." — Jennifer Buta [33:26]

8. The Need for Awareness, Open Communication, and Action

• All panelists stress the importance of regular, non-judgmental communication with children about digital risks, sextortion, and what to do if something happens.
• Authorities are urged to increase education, prevention, and law enforcement resources.
• Listeners are encouraged to report suspicious activity: 1-800-CALL-FBI or Cybertipline.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (w/ Timestamps)

• "Overwhelming to parents like me who have incredible, scrubbed in sunshine All American teen children. To discover your child dead and then to learn... it's because of literally... a depraved sextortion scheme." — Nancy Grace [02:52]
• “Your mommy’s here... there's been a lot of snow, buddy.” — Amanda Tate grieving at Bryce’s gravesite [07:14]
• "Children that young... they can't understand what's happening." — Nancy Grace [10:25]
• "It's straight up blackmail is what it is. It's blackmail. It's cyberbullying. It's extortion. There's so many things going on at this and it puts fear in the kids, into their hearts and minds." — Joe Cunningham [26:29]
• “No child should have to go through this. No child.” — Jennifer Buta [30:54]
• "Scammer really is... that's like editing the truth. They're so much worse than a scammer." — Nancy Grace [44:46]
• "This is an international crime circuit, Nancy, just targeting and preying on innocents. That's what they do." — Melissa McCarty [48:34]

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Understanding the Bryce Tate incident: [02:23-10:17]
• Interview with Jennifer Buta, mother of Jordan Demay: [04:48-07:01, 27:35-31:01]
• Insight from cyber and legal experts: [19:40-29:44]
• Analysis of predator tactics and parental advice: [12:45-18:27, 33:26-34:41]
• Stories of other sextortion victims:
  • Timothy Barnett [35:37-38:49]
  • Gavin Guffey [44:54-45:24]
  • Jay Taylor [47:26-48:17]
  • Amanda Todd [48:50-49:53]
• Call to action and prevention tips: [49:53-end]

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Tone and Language

Nancy Grace and her guests blend empathy, parental anxiety, and outright outrage with clarity and an urgent call to action. The episode is direct, compassionate, and frequently raw, reflecting genuine grief and frustration with a system not moving quickly enough to halt a devastating trend.

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Key Takeaways

• Sextortion is a rapidly escalating, organized, international threat to young people—no family is immune.
• The tactics are sophisticated, leveraging technology and psychological manipulation.
• The emotional torture imposed on victims is deliberate and extreme.
• Prevention starts with parent-child communication, reducing digital footprints, and using monitoring technology.
• Community awareness, law enforcement vigilance, and open conversations save lives.

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For Help and Reporting

If you or a child are at risk or have experienced sextortion, contact:

• National CyberTipline: www.cybertipline.com
• FBI Tip Line: 1-800-CALL-FBI

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This episode is a must-listen for every parent, educator, teen, and anyone concerned about the safety of children in a digital world.

Transcript

[Nancy Grace]

This is an iHeart podcast, Guaranteed Human. Now streaming on Paramount plus is the new limited series Little Disasters. Based on the book by the author of Anatomy of a Scandal and starring Diane Kruger and Jo Joyner, Little Disasters is a gripping story of unraveling secrets and fractured relationships that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Bella magazine declares, if you loved Big Little Lies, then this psychological drama is for you. Little Disaster Binge all the episodes on Paramount plus With diabetes, everyday decisions feel like a mystery without a solution. But with Dexcom G7, the most accurate CGM system, you can quickly and easily see your glucose in real time on your phone, helping you make confident decisions that keep your glucose levels in range and lower your A1C, which can help protect your long term health. Dexcom G7 gives you the knowledge to better control diabetes today. For healthier tomorrows. Start your healthier [e-mail] knowledge dexcom data on file for full prescribing information on risks, benefits and compatible smart devices, visit dexcom.com cleaning out your home is everything.

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[Jennifer Buta]

O Then the space hamster flew his hot air balloon all the way to the bottom of the ocean.

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[Nancy Grace]

With Nancy Grace an all American teen star athlete dead after a depraved sextortion scam. I'm Nancy Grace, this is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us.

[Joe Cunningham]

In Cross Lanes, West Virginia, 15 year old Bryce Tate explores social media like any teenager unaware of the hidden dangers that threaten to isolate and endanger him.

[Nancy Grace]

It's overwhelming. Overwhelming to parents like me who have incredible scrubbed in sunshine All American teen children. To discover your child dead and then to learn is because of literally. I had to look for the right word to describe this a depraved sextortion scheme. Listen.

[Joe Cunningham]

They'll go onto their social media accounts and gather their friends. Listen. And that's who they tell them they're going to release to. So once you feel like the world's going to know what's going to happen and you feel like you're, you know, you have no other way to turn to. Unfortunately, a lot of kids in this country take their own lives. It was Detective Payne of the Connaught Sheriff's office who did the forensic examination on the cell phone and was able to find that Bryce was going through a complicated ordeal called sextortion. The 17 year old girl texting Bryce quickly escalates. She sends Bryce racy photos and asks him to reciprocate. Afraid to lose her attention, Bryce eventually gives in to her request and the script immediately flips. The texter reveals themselves as a scammer and threatens to send Bryce's explicit photos to everyone he knows unless Bryce pays $500.

[Nancy Grace]

It's just too much for a young teen, especially a very naive young teen, to take in. And now this boy. A boy is dead. You just heard Sergeant Jeremy Byrne speaking to wsaz. Before I go straight out to our Investigative journalist Melissa McCarty, I want to go to a very special guest joining me. It's Jennifer Buta, the mother of Jordan demay, a victim of sextortion. Jennifer, after all your crusading, after everything you have been through, it never ends. It never ends. When I heard this, you were the first person I thought of.

[Jennifer Buta]

Yeah, it just keeps happening to our children. When I heard about this case, I was very triggered by it because emotionally I have stood in those parents shoes. I'm still standing in them. And I'm angry that this continues to happen to our children. And when is enough going to be enough and someone will step in to prevent this from taking our kids lives?

[Nancy Grace]

Jennifer, I want other parents and other teens to hear what you have to say. After Jordan, your baby died following literally a depraved sextortion scheme. That night at supper, I sat down with the twins and we talked. A little girl at their school had sent topless photos around and of course the one guy that got the photos sent them to everybody and the little girl was totally shamed. And I said, guys, this happens sometimes you're talking to somebody and they'll want a picture of you and you send it. I've got to tell you about Jordan. And they were stunned and they didn't want to talk about it. But I told them about it and I brought him up many times since then. Could you tell the viewers, parents like me and young teens what happened to Jordan?

[Jennifer Buta]

Jordan was contacted by an alleged female on social media and after sending some messages back and forth, regaining his trust, he thought he was talking to this beautiful young lady who had mutual friends with him. This person asked Jordan to send an explicit photo. Once he did, the whole script flipped and immediately they started demanding money from him. It started with $1,000. He did eventually send them $300, but it wasn't enough and they kept putting the pressure on him for hours until he finally said I'm going to take my own life. And they encouraged it, saying, we're going to watch you die a miserable death. And my son did take his own life within six hours.

[Nancy Grace]

Now it has happened again. It has happened over and over and over. And I want you to you to see what this young boy's mom has left now.

[Jennifer Buta]

Your mommy's here.

[Nancy Grace]

Look at your windmill going.

[Jennifer Buta]

Thanks. Your mommy. Does your hoodie and your necklace on? There's been a lot of snow, buddy.

[Nancy Grace]

Yes there has, son. I almost couldn't play that because that is Amanda and Ida, Amanda and Adam, speaking to their boy, just 15 in the snow at his grave. Listen.

[Jennifer Buta]

Bryce is Amanda and Adam Tate's only child and the apple of their eye. The 15 year old is a sophomore at Nitro High School in Cross Lanes, a standout student, star basketball player, funny, goofy and a Christian Fellowship youth leader. When Bryce isn't in school, he's lifting weights at the gym, shooting hoops or spending time with his loving family.

[Nancy Grace]

Him in life. And then after this deadly depraved sextortion scam, he is dead and his mother and father visit him at the cemetery.

[Joe Cunningham]

On a Thursday afternoon. Bryce heads to the gym after school. Bryce gets a text. The texter claims she's a junior at another high school and has seen Bryce at the gym before. She knows some of his friends who told her about his impressive basketball skills and wanted to introduce herself. The teens flirt back and forth all afternoon. Bryce comes home from the gym still engrossed in his text conversation with the pretty stranger. Bryce is thrilled. It's taco night and has plenty of appetite, happily chatting with his parents at the dinner table. After clearing the table, Bryce heads outside to shoot some hoops, but he's distracted.

[Nancy Grace]

By his new friend, Sydney Sumner, crime Stories investigative reporter. What happened?

[Jennifer Buta]

Bryce Tate was texted by a beautiful 17 year old girl who convinced him she went to a high school in town. She name drops his friends in this conversation saying she knows them in passing. They've mentioned Bryce before, gave him, gave his phone number to her because she was interested in maybe having a relationship.

[Nancy Grace]

With him at some point.

[Jennifer Buta]

So these teens have a conversation, they're flirting, she's escalating. And within three hours, hours. This girl reveals herself as a Scammer and wants $500 from Bryce to not send nude photos that he gave her.

[Nancy Grace]

To everyone he knows.

[Jennifer Buta]

And this 15 year old boy who only has $30 in his bank account is pushed to suicide because they tell him they will ruin his Life. Just after 7pm, Amanda and Adam Tate are shocked by the sound of a gunshot and rush into Adam's man cave. Their happy teenager shot himself. The hysterical parents call 911, but Bryce was gone the moment he pulled the trigger. What no one understands is why Bryce would take his own life.

[Joe Cunningham]

It was on November 6 that the parents of Bryce Tate had called 911 because their son had taking his own life with a firearm.

[Nancy Grace]

You were hearing Sergeant Jeremy Burns. From our friends at WCHS to Tonya Jordan joining a special guest, the chief parent officer at Bark Parental. She's the author of Parenting in a Tech World. It's just too much for a teen that young to take in that if a naked photo of them or a body part of them goes out to their family or their friends, people at school, death would be better than that. They, they can't understand what's happening. But Titania, this is happening all over the country. This scammer, this scammer that might as well have held a gun to this teen boy's head, had thousands and thousands of teen children, boys and girls, that he was targeting. How does it happen? Explain to me how it happened. And I told my children right to their face, I've seen all your body parts since you were born. I don't care if I get a picture of your body part. Don't care. This is what happened to Jordan Demay. This is what happened to Bryce. And I name out people their age that this has happened to. But children that young, Titania, they don't understand.

[Jennifer Buta]

Our brains are not fully formed until we're in our mid-20s. And so children are not capable because of their prefrontal cortex to make the right decisions all the time. They need to know that they can come to you at any time and let you know about bad things that have happened. And you're not going to smack the phone out of their hand or ground them for a year. Because to your point, it is not better to die by suicide than to have to fess up to this shameful and embarrassing decision. It's also also not their fault because they're being targeted. They're being targeted on Instagram, on TikTok, on text message, on Roblox, on Discord, YouTube, you name it. They're being targeted everywhere and they think that they've made a connection, a potential love interest. It is normal for them to feel this excitement, but it's not normal to have such odds stacked against them. And so it's just, it's heartbreaking, you know.

[Nancy Grace]

Melissa McCarty joining us, renowned investigative journalist and author Melissa again, thank you for being with us, Melissa. The scammer gets into their social media, the victim social media. They friend all their friends, they find out who they are chatting with, who's on their list, you know, on Insta you can see everybody that you're friends with and threaten to expose the child to them with the child's own naked photo that they have tweedled out of them. What happened here, Melissa?

[Jennifer Buta]

This was a targeted operation and it's a wide scale operation. These scammers, how they work. And just like you say, they look into the social media. It's easy for them to earn his trust by saying, I know you from the gym. We have mutual friends. They've already done a survey on his life before targeting him. So when they reached out and he received that random text messages from an Unknown number at 4:30, like any other day, it was someone posing, a scammer, posing as a teenage girl. So that conversation was able to move so quickly and escalate so fast because Bryce Tate ended up getting 120 text messages within a three hour time span before he ended up taking his life. And the operation is to put him in a state of panic so he can't do anything but act in an irrational way to where he doesn't have time to think. He just acted. And it's this fear, organized operation targeting young teenagers.

[Nancy Grace]

While you were talking, Melissa McCarty, all I can think about is my own boy, John David. To Dr. Sherry Schwartz, joining us, forensic [e-mail] Dr. Sherry I have thousands and thousands of videos of my son and daughter. But she's more reticent than my son. I've got photos, videos just like that of him crazy, dancing all over the house of me in the front yard saying, run, John David, run, run, run as fast as you can. And we video him. And it never got old, running around the front yard, just the two of them. So Full of joy and life. And that's all this mom and dad have left. Watching those videos over and over and over. You know how many videos I've got of them at the cemetery? It's heartbreaking. And I'll circle back to Titania, but. Dr. Sherry, a lot of parents don't want to tell their children. They don't want to think, oh, my child might send a nude photo. My child might send a topless photo. It happens in this world. But you don't want your child dead. And it's. Did you HEAR what Melissa McCarty was saying? And Sydney Sumner? That he was bombarded. I think he got up to around 300, but I know in the space of like an hour he got 120 threatening text messages. Your life will be ruined. I will make sure I ruin your life. What will your family say when they see your penis? What will your family. What will your mom think about you then get the money. It just. It's horrible, Dr. Sherry.

[Jennifer Buta]

It's horrible. And it's a tactic designed to not give the child a chance to think. It's used on adults, too. And it's a pretty effective tactic. Right. When I want you to do something and I want to take control of your life, I'm just going to bombard you and not give you a moment to think about how to solve the problem without giving me exactly what I want. This is classic predatory behavior. Grooming the child to get these photos and making them think they're a friend appear and then turning around and saying, now I'm going to blow up your life. I'm going to ruin your life. And to continue to bombard you with these messages and a child. Some. One of your guests said about the brain development and not having good impulse control, which is true. And so you wouldn't think, let me put down the phone. You're nervous and you're thinking about how to solve the problem. It's just horrible.

[Nancy Grace]

And you know another thing, Dr. Sherry Schwartz, when we're at the supper table and we're talking about this kid and that kid that all go to school with John, David and Lucy, and they'll say, well, so and so is dating so and so. I'm like, they don't even drive. What do you mean they're dating? They're just talking. Like what? Talking on the phone. And they're like, no, no, they're. They're insta. Their Snapchat, their. That's dating in their minds. And these scammers can go on the victim's wherever they are, on insta, on Snapchat. And they can see very easily who they have friended. I'll just use that term, although it doesn't apply to everything. And then they can then find out all this. What the child thinks is private info. Oh, I go to ABC school, I play soccer, I play football, I'm in the cooking club and so forth and so on. And so when the scammer speaks to the child, the scammer has enough information to make it seem real, like it really is a cute girl from the high school across town. That's how it happens.

[Jennifer Buta]

Exactly. That's exactly how it happens. In fact, one of the pieces of advice that police will give out to school age children, their parents is don't write their name on their backpack. It's the same principle. Because a predator can call out their name, hey, Alyssa. And the child doesn't realize, oh, it's on my backpack. So that's where the predator got it. It's the same idea the child doesn't think about, oh, I posted these things on my social media and this person could be using against me. Hey, Bryce, let me tell him this.

[Joe Cunningham]

What?

[Jennifer Buta]

Hey, Bryce. Mommy had to put these cowgirl boots on because you wouldn't believe it. At our house, I was wearing tennis shoes after we went to the gym and I busted my butt twice. I know, didn't I?

[Joe Cunningham]

Yes. She didn't get hurt though. She's all right. We love you.

[Jennifer Buta]

Hurt my back and everything.

[Commercial/Advertisement Voice]

We love you, buddy.

[Jennifer Buta]

I love you, Bryce.

[Joe Cunningham]

Bryce T. A high school. High school honor student, enjoys sports and family time. But his safety is threatened when a text from an unknown number claiming to be a neighborhood girl lures him into sending explicit photos, unaware it's a digital deception for financial gain.

[Nancy Grace]

Joining me is Joe Cunningham, high profile lawyer who specializes in sextortion cases who has previously represented the family of Timothy Barnett, who is the 13,1313-year-old victim of this type of scam, a deadly scam. And you can find him@joecunningham law.com Joe, thank you for being with us. I wish we were speaking under different circumstances, but in the case, one of the many cases that you've handled, it struck me that Tim, Timmy, Timothy Barnett was just 13 years old. He can't, he's too young to even process what's happening. And then his parents find him dead and it doesn't end. You know, you would think, Joe Cunningham, that once you put out a PSA public service announcement and you publicize it and I publicize it. And it's on all the news outlets that parents would talk to their children and children would understand, but they're too young to understand. Joe, explain.

[Joe Cunningham]

That's true, Nancy. And these cases are some of the most emotionally tough cases that I deal with. They, you know, they follow a similar pattern and a similar script and the results are always just shattering. I mean, I'm a, I'm a parent. You're a parent. And I got commending Nancy for ringing the bell on this issue so early on. And it still amazes me how many parents have no idea about these sextortion schemes that are going on and how just how evil they are as, as well. I can't think of anybody more evil than those people on the other side of their phones or their computer screens who are, you know, have these schemes ongoing to try to attack the most vulnerable people in this world. Our children.

[Nancy Grace]

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[Jennifer Buta]

Then the space hamster flew his hot air balloon all the way to the bottom of the ocean.

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[Jennifer Buta]

And what did he pack for lunch?

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[Nancy Grace]

Guys, Joe Cunningham is with us. He's joining us out of Charleston, South Carolina, but he handles cases like this all over the country. To Todd Shipley. Joining us, digital cybercrime expert, former detective in Reno, Nevada, PD, 25 years in LA, and author of Surviving a Cyber Attack, securing social media, protecting your home, investigating Internet crimes, and on and on. Todd, thank you for being with us. Todd, after joining us today, Todd, I don't know if you heard her, is Jennifer Buta. And Jennifer's son, Jordan Demay was one of the first cases like this. I investigated. Todd. And about two weeks after that, Todd, my producer, sent me a teen sextortion case. I said, we just covered that. Do you not remember, Jennifer? We just did that. And she said, this is a different one. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Todd Shipley, how common this is.

[Jennifer Buta]

Todd, it's too common.

[Joe Cunningham]

And that becomes the problem that these scammers have figured out a different way to try to go after our children. And that's why I write about my.

[Jennifer Buta]

Latest book about how to protect our.

[Joe Cunningham]

Kids and what to look for, because.

[Jennifer Buta]

There are sometimes signs that these things are occurring.

[Joe Cunningham]

And we've got to be better about trying to figure out what's happening to our children because these attackers prey on them every day. And they're going out there constantly looking for this kind of thing to get small amounts of money relatively. But they're having a huge impact on our children. And it's terrible. It's straight up blackmail is what it is. It's blackmail. It's cyberbullying. It's extortion. There's so many things going on at this and it puts fear in the kids, into their hearts and minds. In the 20 minutes before taking his own life, Bryce receives 120 text messages from the sextortionist. Bryce offers the only money he has access to, $30. But this extortionist tells him it isn't enough. The person on the other side of the phone actually encourages Bryce to kill himself, writing, his life is already over. Adam and Amanda Tate are devastated. Unable to pick up the Christmas gifts already underneath the tree, Bryce knew he could confide in them about anything. The scammers ability to shatter that bond so quickly is a testament to their insidious power.

[Nancy Grace]

From our friends at WCHS to Jennifer Buta. Joining us, Jordan Demay's mother, who has gone on a crusade after she lost her boy to a sextortionist. And you know, Jennifer, sextortion really is. It's a euphemism. It's like putting perfume on the pig. Because the torture that Jordan went through, the emotional and mental torture he went through and before he killed himself, it's excruciating. Explain to the listeners and viewers how you discovered that Jordan was dead.

[Jennifer Buta]

Jordan sent me a text message at 3:41 in the morning that said, mother, I love you. And when I got up the next morning and saw it, I texted, texted him back. He did not respond. I texted him a second time. He didn't respond. And Jordan and I were very, very close, so he would always respond to me. And something just told me things were very wrong because Jordan would respond. I texted him a third time, and when he didn't respond, I reached out to his girlfriend to see if he was at school. Then I contacted his dad, and his dad found him in his bedroom and he had taken his own life. Ogashi, pretending to be this young woman, persuaded Jordan to send a sexually explicit image of himself.

[Nancy Grace]

Once Samuel Ogashi had that sexually explicit image in his hand, he then turned to extort Jordan Demay for money, threatening.

[Jennifer Buta]

To reveal the image to Jordan, Jordan's.

[Joe Cunningham]

Family and friends if he did not comply. This is something that probably would have, would have been laughing about in 10 or 15 years after he's graduated college and gotten married and had kids and bought his first home and, you know, got a career job and did all the things you'd look back and kind of like, that was stupid, right? But in that moment, you can't. They're not old enough to understand. They're not developed enough to understand.

[Nancy Grace]

You're hearing Jordan's dad. That's John demay speaking back to Jordan's mother, Jennifer. You know what? John's right. Years ahead, they said, hey, remember when I sent that naked picture? What was I thinking? And everyone would have laughed. And even if it was even mentioned, it would just be, you know, a blip on the radar, a speed bump that happened 10 years before. You and Jordan had a very, very close relationship. What did this scammer say to him that made him feel his only choice was death?

[Jennifer Buta]

They flooded Jordan with messages as well. And they put pressure on by having a countdown so he would have to do things within a certain period of time. And it really ramped up the anxiety for him. He was begging them to stop. He was begging for his own life. And when he was worn out and could not go anymore and said he would take his own life, they encouraged that. And in the middle of the night, my son took his own life alone. And that's something that I. No child should have to go through this. No child.

[Nancy Grace]

Titania Jordan Bark, parental control, chief parent officer. And I have Bark. And no, I'm not a paid ambassador or sponsor, but bark is a feature you put on your child's devices. And every time so very word sensitive. And I use this example because it's the best example I can think of. I got an alert. I nearly fell off my chair because I was sitting right here in the studio in a break. I looked over and I got a bark alert that John David had communicated about self harm. I'm like, what? I immediately stopped the taping and I looked. He is a soccer goalie and he saved a goal and it was really hard. He did a horizontal dive. Of course, I have a picture of it. He's completely horizontal and his arm went through the net and he got a big bruise. And in the picture, it's him showing off a bruise. He goes, it was worth it. And he's talking about he made the save. But when I saw self harm, I was so upset. And what I'm trying to think, that's how sensitive it is. The other day I got one Titania, an alert of an ugly word or something to do with sex. I'm like, oh, I looked at it. Guess what? It was the Nancy Gray show. We were talking about Sean Combs and he is a subscriber. And it came up on Bark. I'm like, that said, I want to talk to you, Titania, because you deal with this every day. You can explain better than I can. And maybe Joe Cunningham can explain it as well. How the scammer this person, like in Jordan's case, Ogashi, Samuel Ogashi, far thousands of miles away, how does he know what's happening in the target's life? How did he know to say, hey, I'm Julie from Westside High and I've been to your soccer game and you're on awesome. And I know your friends Johnny and Devin and Amay. I know them. We all go to the same blah, blah, blah, blah. How do they get the information on the target to make themselves so believable?

[Jennifer Buta]

You know, it starts with us. It starts with the parents. We are curating a digital footprint for our children. So it's very important if and when you post anything about your child online, A, you think twice, B, you only post privately. Do not make anything public on your Instagram, on your Facebook, please, because they will go to the parents accounts to figure out what they post about their kids. Then if your children have social media, which I don't recommend until at least they're 16 years old, they need to have private accounts. These sextortionists and predators and pedophiles can find your children very easily online. Especially because even if they have a private account on Instagram, they can put in their bio, you know, find me on Snapchat, and their username. They leave little breadcrumbs and trails. The predators can see who they're connected to, befriend them, and it only takes one or two acceptance or accepting of a friend request or a quick ad on Snap to help them put the puzzle pieces together, to give them just enough information to pretend to be a peer of your child and trick them. Good kids make bad choices. Smart children are being fooled every day. The FBI has reported that sextortion is a crime that we all need to be paying attention to. And it's time for parents wake up.

[Joe Cunningham]

It was on November 6 that the parents of Bryce Tate had called 911 because their son had taken his own life with a firearm.

[Jennifer Buta]

Just after 7pm, Amanda and Adam Tate are shocked by the sound of a gunshot and rush into Adam's man cave. Their happy teenager shot himself. The hysterical parents call 91 1, but Bryce was gone the moment he pulled the trigger. What no one understands is why Bryce.

[Joe Cunningham]

Would take his own life in just three hours. The interaction escalates to the unimaginable. After being pressured into sending explicit photos, they demanded $500 or they would release the photo to family and friends. When Bryce said he didn't have the money, their tax turned deadly.

[Nancy Grace]

This horrific extortion, I call it a murder. On the heels of the same scenario with a little boy, Timothy Barnett.

[Jennifer Buta]

It was a morning like every other morning. My husband and I got up with the alarm. He went about his day, walked out the front door. A few minutes later, I get a phone call saying, lock the doors and check on the kids. So I go about the kids rooms, they're all there except for Timothy. So I check to see if he was in the bathroom, he wasn't. Checked the kitchen and he wasn't there. So I walked out to the garage again, he wasn't there. And panic set in. So I called my husband back and I said, what's going on? He's like, someone's sleeping in her front yard. And I said, I can't find Timothy. And at that point I realized I woke up into every mother's nightmare.

[Nancy Grace]

She can't find her little boy, Timmy. Timothy. And then the husband says, somebody's sleeping in the front yard.

[Jennifer Buta]

The body in the front yard is Timothy. Cameras show Timothy sitting in the family car for two hours the night before, frantically scrolling on his phone. Timothy's Snapchat revealed the 13 year old sent a stranger $35 a day to prevent them posting an explicit photo of him online. One of Timothy's last messages begged the stranger to stop reading, please, I'm just a child. Unfortunately, I was naive enough to not think that predators, well, I knew that there were predators out there. I didn't think that there were predators so bold that would want to hurt a 13 year old. And there are.

[Nancy Grace]

Can you Even imagine your 13 year old child killing themselves and they're lying out in the front yard while you're looking for them inside. Joe Cunningham with us, high profile lawyer who specializes in cases just like this. And he represented that beautiful mom of Timmy Barnett, just 13 years old. When we say predator, that's really not the right word. Have you ever actually seen a hyena?

[Joe Cunningham]

I have, yeah.

[Jennifer Buta]

Have you?

[Nancy Grace]

Just because they have this freaky high pitched laugh. It sounds like crazy laugh. Like maybe the joker on Batman. Like crazy high pitched, kind of cross between a yell and a scream. And they will attack a living person. If that living person is trying to drag away a dead carcass, they will attack the living person. And they go in packs. They are evil. They smell. They smell. They eat rotting, decayed flesh. That's what these scammers. Scammers. Not even the right word. They're killers. That's what they are to go after our babies, our children. I mean, since Timmy's case that you worked on, there have been so many others, including the one we're covering right now. Joe.

[Joe Cunningham]

Yeah, I think as of late there's been over 2,000 cases in the United States. And you're right, Nancy, this is just pure evil. And a lot of it stemming from these gangs along the Ivory coast of Africa. But it's happening all over the globe. Groups like 764 who are encouraging kids to either mutilate themselves or carve those numbers, those gang members into their bodies or them up.

[Nancy Grace]

Wait, wait, wait. They trick children into mutilating, cutting themselves.

[Joe Cunningham]

That's right. That's right. This group, 7, 6, 4, and then oftentimes request them to upload pictures of the cuts and if it's not deep enough, they'll ask them to cut deeper. I mean, it is completely sadistic, Nancy, as to what's going on. There are many groups and gangs in it for the money and there are other groups that are in it just for the torture of our kids. And then they'll encourage those kids to bring their younger siblings into the mix. What's happening right now is it should be a wake up call for all parents right now.

[Nancy Grace]

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[Jennifer Buta]

Then the space hamster flew his hot air balloon all the way to the bottom of the ocean.

[Commercial/Advertisement Voice]

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[Jennifer Buta]

And what did he pack for lunch?

[Commercial/Advertisement Voice]

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[Joe Cunningham]

In the crucial 20 minutes before his death, scammers relentlessly pressure Bryce to end his life, culminating in a tragic gunshot that plunges his parents into unfathomable grief.

[Nancy Grace]

How many children will die because of sextortion?

[Jennifer Buta]

Listen, I am more determined to rot.

[Commercial/Advertisement Voice]

Your life than to make it a waste. A trash can, a shame, a dishonor.

[Jennifer Buta]

A hell, a real disaster.

[Commercial/Advertisement Voice]

A hell on earth. And I remind you that I am heartless.

[Jennifer Buta]

I have no pity to ride a life as well as yours.

[Commercial/Advertisement Voice]

This was one of almost 200 messages sent to my child over the span of 19 and a half hours.

[Jennifer Buta]

I am begging you to stand with this.

[Nancy Grace]

Stand up, do something from C span. Children as young as 12 and 13 dying at the hands of these online hyenas. I want to go back to Jennifer Buta joining us. Her son lost his life to one of these scammers. And I don't know if you feel the same way, Jennifer, but scammer really is is. That's like editing the truth. There's so much worse than a scammer.

[Jennifer Buta]

That'S putting it mildly. Calling them a Scanner. I mean, they are responsible for killing my son effectively.

[Nancy Grace]

Does the name Gavin Guthey ring a bell? Because I will never forget him.

[Joe Cunningham]

A month after Gavin shoots himself in a bathroom at home, his family members start receiving Instagram messages asking for money in exchange for not releasing nude photos of Gavin. His father even gets a message. Did I tell you your son begged for his life. The Guffeys discover Gavin had been tricked into sending nude photos to a person he believed was a. A girl his age, then extorted. Gavin was being blackmailed.

[Nancy Grace]

That was all the information that I knew was that he was being blackmailed.

[Joe Cunningham]

But what happened was Gavin was. He got caught up in sextortion and this is a major crime.

[Nancy Grace]

They took looks like Hunter Biden headlines.

[Joe Cunningham]

And put pictures of Gavin and put.

[Jennifer Buta]

My name and his name on the.

[Commercial/Advertisement Voice]

Headlines and were threatening to release it.

[Joe Cunningham]

And it was pictures to this girl.

[Jennifer Buta]

That he was talking to online.

[Nancy Grace]

Gavin, now dead, that was his father who is a South Carolina representative. So even people that are influential and prestigious, their children have died at the hands of these online hyenas that are literally tearing at the flesh of our children. And many of these so called scammers are in different countries. And isn't it true, Titania, that one scammer can have, can be working on literally thousands of children at the same time? Like you and I go to work, they go down to their basement where they have a fleet of strings and they're working all day long to get $30 off this kid, $300 off that kid, $20 off this kid and it works. They make a living off our children.

[Jennifer Buta]

Titania, absolutely. And Joe Cunningham alluded to the 764 network, which is a very real, credible and frightening threat. It's very dark and it is a network. They have multiple entities across the globe and using the help of AI and chatbots to create the relationship, almost like a business development spam caller. And then once they realize they have somebody on the hook, then it transfers to a human. It is a multifaceted, very deep, very highly organized criminal ring and our children are the collateral damage.

[Nancy Grace]

A little boy, just 13 years old. Jay Taylor loses his life.

[Jennifer Buta]

There was saying horrible things, misgendering him, calling him that. They said that they got him to kill himself and they were saying in the group chat they wanted to do it to someone else.

[Joe Cunningham]

JTaylor13 makes a Discord account to connect with other crocheters. Users pressure the teen to kill himself. Jay responds he doesn't want to die. But after an hour of Constant messages. Jay creeps out of his home, props up and an Instagram live stream and hangs himself from a fence. An Australian sends Jay's final stream to his devastated parents. The video eventually leading to a 20 year old German med student.

[Jennifer Buta]

They took advantage of Jay's loneliness and his kindness and then they completely preyed on his insecurities.

[Nancy Grace]

That from our friends at ABC's Nightline. Melissa McCarty joining us, investigative journalist in that case, a 13 year old boy is dead because of a German med student, a medical student that was running the scam.

[Jennifer Buta]

This is an international crime circuit, Nancy, just targeting and preying on innocents. That's what they do. There are hundreds of cases that the FBI is investigating just like that one.

[Nancy Grace]

You're right, Melissa. And it's not just little boys. Girls too.

[Jennifer Buta]

Amanda, 12, goes to a chat site with friends and receives compliments and attention. One asks Amanda to flash the the camera and eventually the girl gives in. The man uses the photos to blackmail Amanda. When she refuses, the extortionist sends the photo to classmates, friends and family members. Amanda is bullied relentlessly, switching schools three times with the extortionist following her every move.

[Nancy Grace]

I got a message on Facebook from him, don't know him or how he knew me. It said if you don't put on a show for me, I will send your boobs. He knew my address, school, relatives, friends, family names. Knock at my threatens to knock at my door at 4am it was the police. My photo was sent everywhere.

[Joe Cunningham]

Amanda hangs herself in her home. Police discover communications with Todd on Dutch national Aiden Coben's computer along with a list of 6,000 potential victims and their social networks. He's now serving 13 years behind bars.

[Nancy Grace]

A Dutch national got into this little girl and that was her. That was Amanda Todd telling her story with cards. Holding up those cue cards that I was reading for you on YouTube. And now that precious little girl, precious just 12 years old when this started, is dead. She's dead. And the guy that did it, a Dutch national, got 13 years behind bars. He's probably already out. If you know or think you know anything about crimes like these, you can save a life. 1-800- call FBI. That's a cyber tip line. 800, call FBI or go to cyber tip line. We remember an American hero, Deputy Sheriff Daniel Ken of Wyandotte County Sheriff's Ohio. Killed in the line of duty, leaving behind a grieving wife and two little children. American hero Deputy sheriff Daniel Ken Nancy Grace signing off goodbye tonight. With diabetes. Everyday decisions feel like a mystery without a solution. But with Dexcom G7, the most accurate CGM system, you can quickly and easily see your glucose in real time on your phone, helping you make confident decisions that keep your glucose levels in range and lower your A1C, which can help protect your long term health. Dexcom G7 gives you the knowledge to better control diabetes today for healthier tomorrows Start your healthier [e-mail] knowledge data on file. For full prescribing information on risks, benefits and compatible smart devices, visit dexcom.com.

[Jennifer Buta]

Shh.

[Nancy Grace]

You won't believe what my new friend.

[Commercial/Advertisement Voice]

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[Joe Cunningham]

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[Nancy Grace]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.