A successful student athlete and former homecoming king took his own life after he fell victim to a sextortion plot.
Jordan John DeMay was a 17-year-old who had it all; a student athlete who excelled in basketball and a popular teen who was even voted homecoming king. But now the family of the Michigan teen have been left heartbroken and searching for answers after he took his own life.
The popular student fell victim to an increasingly prevalent sextortion plot where teens are conned into sending photos of or video chatting sex acts and then blackmailed with threats to share the information with family, friends, schools, or religious leaders.
His family believes he took his own life after being repeatedly blackmailed and threatened by people who have yet to be caught.
Jordan started chatting to an attractive female peer before the conversation became sexual and he was then tricked into sending a nude photo which the sextortionist then blackmailed him over, initially asking for $1,000.
Jordan told them he didn’t have it but they increased their threats so he sent them what he did have – $300.
On March 25, he wrote “you win” and told the blackmailers he was going to kill himself. They told him to ‘go for it’. Six hours later, Jordan was dead.
The blackmailers moved on to Jordan’s friend and started messaging her, demanding money or else they’d share his photo.
She told them that Jordan had killed himself, and they responded “good,” prompting her to hang up and call police.
The investigation into who is behind the plot is ongoing and Sheriff Greg Zybert, from Marquette County Sheriff’s Office, had this message for teens: “This can happen to you and if it does you need to reach out it’s not the end of the world, it’s not worth taking your life.”
I hope these evil blackmailers are caught soon; they clearly have no regard for the lives of these vulnerable teens.
Matters like this can seem the end of the world for teens but we need to spread the message that they are not in the wrong for this, it’s the perpetrators.
My heart goes out to Jordan’s family and friends who are experiencing the unimaginable. May he rest in peace.
