Bryce Tate, a 15-year-old high school student, was found dead by a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his Cross Lanes residence on November 6. This occurred three hours after his family reported that he received a suspicious text from an unknown number.
The KCSO’s Digital Forensic Lab soon began investigating his death and discovered that “he was targeted in an online sextortion scheme” at 4:37 pm on the day of his death.
According to the FBI, sextortion refers to a practice in which victims are coerced into “taking and sending sexually explicit photos and videos—and then immediately demand payment or threaten to release the photo to the victim’s family and friends”.
Adam Tate, Bryce’s father, told The New York Post that his son was targeted by a number that the scammers claimed belonged to “a local 17-year-old girl.” The perpetrators gained his confidence by pretending to be someone from the neighborhood.
Adam also mentioned that the scammers knew where Bryce worked out and who his friends were. They sent him illicit photos of a young girl, who is suspected to be another victim, and asked for his private pictures in return.
Shortly after that, they reportedly demanded $500. They also threatened to share his photos with his friends if he did not comply. Adam told The New York Post that Bryce offered them his last $30 because he couldn’t pay the full amount.
⚠️ WARNING: This post contains graphic descriptions of suicide & legal issues.
Dr. Florian Willet, 47, a euthanasia advocate, died by assisted suicide on May 5, after reportedly being traumatized by a murder investigation into the death of a woman using a Sarco suicide pod.
Dr.… pic.twitter.com/iDXwdToRL6
— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) June 3, 2025
Bryce’s family claims that the scammers then told Bryce to die by suicide as his ‘life is already over’.
“They say it’s suicide, but in my book it is 100% murder. They’re godless demons, in my opinion. Just cowards, awful individuals, worse than criminals,” Adam told the New York Post.
The scammers reportedly sent Bryce 120 messages in the 20 minutes before he died.
🚨🚨A Very Broken System – Child Protection🚨T
This is utterly sickening, disgusting and entirely un-Australian.
The fact that Victoria’s “independent” body did not even follow up complaints of children being abused, being used as currency, as leveraging, after their drug… pic.twitter.com/j9kOVMdKDh
— Michael Kalaf (@mixrecovery19) December 7, 2025
“(The scammers) bombard victims with relentless threats, isolation tactics, and fabricated shame, convincing them, in a matter of hours, that their world is irreparably destroyed and that reaching out would only amplify the ruin,” Adam told WSAZ.
Bryce’s case is not an isolated incident. According to the New York Post, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found over 33,000 reports of child s*xtortion in 2024
And these shocking figures are the reason Adam and West Virginia lawmakers are lobbying to pass ‘Bryce’s Law’. This proposed cyberbullying bill aims to introduce stricter punishments for crimes that lead to self-harm or suicide.
Bryce’s death highlights how there is no room for cyberbullying or harassment in a civilized society. Will it serve as a wake-up call and compel those in power to strive for a better and safer tomorrow for children? Time will tell!
