‘Psychological warfare’: Family shares heartbreaking loss to sextortion to save others

(Editor’s note: This story discusses suicide. If you or a loved one need help, call or text the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988.)

NITRO, W. Va. (InvestigateTV) — Bryce Tate’s death was the result of a crime the FBI reports is quickly growing across the country.

His father, Adam Tate, is sharing his story to educate other parents. He and his wife, Amanda, said they were initially unfamiliar with the scam police say killed their son.

“We had never heard of the term sextortion before,” Adam Tate said.

Sextortion involves someone coercing a minor to create sexually explicit images or videos, then threatening to release the material unless payment is received, often in the form of gift cards or cryptocurrency.

A 2025 survey found one in five teens have experienced sextortion.

Bryce Tate was a sophomore at Nitro High School. His father described him as “always smiling, full of energy, goofy, dancing.”

“It was the greatest thing in the world, to be able to get home and see his smiling face, and be able to pick him up, and hug him, kiss him, and wrestle him, and it was just so much fun,” Adam Tate said.

“You know, there’s nothing but good memories. And that we’re thankful for.”

The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department investigated Bryce Tate’s death as a case of sextortion.

“It was just a normal day. My son tells my wife, ‘I’m gonna go take a shower.’ Just normal conversations. There was no red flag. There was nothing that would make you question that there was something going on,” Adam Tate said.

The texts began after school

On the evening of Nov. 6, Bryce Tate received a text message after school while he was working out at the gym. The message came from someone claiming to be a teenage girl interested in him.

Bryce Tate had never met or spoken with the girl, but she had information about him that was accurate. The first text arrived just after 4:30 p.m.

The conversation continued at the gym and as Amanda Tate picked her son up and drove him home.

“And around 7:25, 7:27, somewhere in that area, my wife heard a loud noise,” Adam Tate said. “I said, well, Amanda... He might have fell. Something might have broke. And she walks into the man cave, and that’s where she finds him. You know, and I hear her screaming on the phone.”

Adam Tate would get home as fast as he could.

“In my mind, as his father, I felt like if I would have got there sooner, I could have done something,” he said.

The sound Amanda Tate heard was a gunshot. Bryce Tate had died.

Answers come nearly two weeks later

Over the next 12 days, through Bryce Tate’s funeral and the investigation into his death, Adam and Amanda Tate could think of no reason why their son would have done something like this.

“This crime happened in such a short period of time, we’re talking a three-hour period. My son didn’t struggle with mental health. He wasn’t bullied. There was no heartbreak. There was, he would have otherwise never done something like this,” Adam Tate said.

Nearly two weeks after their son’s death, detectives asked the Tates to come to the sheriff’s department.

“They performed a forensics audit on his phone. And they told us that he was a victim of sextortion,” Adam Tate said. “So, it was nice to get that answer, but then more questions came up, like, what is sextortion?”

Deputies and the FBI believe the person Bryce Tate had been texting was a professional extortionist posing as a teenage girl.

After Bryce Tate received pictures from the other number and was enticed to send compromising pictures of himself, the extortionist revealed himself. He threatened to release the images publicly, ruining Bryce Tate’s life and his family’s life, unless he paid a ransom.

“They wanted $500. My son offered him $30. He only had $30 and, uh, he offered that to him and that wasn’t enough money. So, the next thing that they do is, they coerce them into taking their own lives,” Adam Tate said. “So, this isn’t something that he just thought of on his own. You know, they coach him into that.”

Tate said the extortionist sent Bryce 120 texts in a span of 20 minutes.

“A text message every 10 seconds to keep them engaged by design to keep them in that panic. And they put this imaginary timer, like if you don’t do this within this amount of time, all these images will be released,” he saiid. “And they just keep them in a state of panic. And it’s psychological warfare. And they just, they pile it on. I mean, they just, they max pressure.”

Tate said that pressure becomes all-consuming for kids, who feel unable to put the phone down and see a way out. He said that’s why it’s important for parents to talk with their children.

“Stop believing that this can’t happen to your family because it can. If it can happen to my family, it can happen to yours. So please take a moment and just simply have a conversation with your kid,” Adam Tate said.

Tate and his wife say that Bryce was the “biggest blessing in my lifetime.”

“For my wife and I, and anybody who had the privilege of knowing my son, he was a blessing. And what I refuse to do, what I will not allow to happen, is these cowards write the ending to my son’s story. That will not happen,” Adam Tate said.

No arrests have been made in Bryce Tate’s case.

The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office says it’s working with the FBI on the investigation.

Advocacy since Bryce’s death

In April 2026, Nitro High School hosted a basketball tournament in Bryce Tate’s honor. The two-day event also served as an opportunity to educate families on sextortion.

The advocacy work of Bryce Tate’s parents reached the West Virginia State Capitol. In 2026, Bryce’s Law went into effect, criminalizing sextortion and outlining penalties.

Parents sharing their stories of loss and pushing for change is why Wisconsin has several laws to stop and prevent sextortion. As of April 2026, victims of sexual extortion can file a civil suit for monetary damages against their perpetrator rather than relying on a criminal case. It also allows a victim’s family to file a wrongful death lawsuit against a perpetrator if their loved one’s suicide was largely a result of that crime.

The state also passed laws allocating more resources to investigating internet crimes against children and awareness campaigns in public schools.

If you or someone you know is struggling with distress or a mental health crisis, help is available. Call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Services are free and confidential.