This article contains descriptions of suicide.
The mother of a son who took his own life over an online sextortion plot is opening up about the situation to warn others.
A heartfelt video created by Jennifer DeMay Buta, the mother of 17-year-old Jordan DeMay, shared details of the last time she saw her son in March 2022 and how she learned of his suicide from his father. In the video, posted Oct. 27 and generating more than 11 million views since, she reported getting a text at 3:41am from Jordan that said, “Mother, I love you”—the last communication she received from her son.
“For him to send me a late-night text wasn’t out of the ordinary,” she explains in the video, saying that he would sometimes stay up late playing video games. “I texted him right away at 6am, and he didn’t respond. I went on with my day; I brought my children to their school. And at that point, I knew that Jordan should be awake and responding to me. But he didn’t.”
She went on to note that she texted him and then, when he didn’t respond, “I had this overwhelming feeling that I should drive to his dad’s house. But I didn’t. I drove home.”
She suspected something was wrong when he didn’t respond to another text, noting he always answered because she is an “annoying mom” who would reach out repeatedly until she got a response. She called Jordan’s girlfriend, who reported he wasn’t at school, and then his dad, who then found him dead and reported back to her with the terrible news.
ABC News covered the case involving the Michigan teen, noting that he fell prey to an online scam involving Nigerian men who pretended to be an attractive female, sent him nude pictures, enticed him to send a nude, and then threatened to expose the photo to friends and family if he didn’t send money.
@jennbuta This is Jordan’s story. How I lost my 17 year old son. (Ignore the saw in the background) #jordandemarest #grievingmom #igotyou #IGOTYOU #foryourpage #childloss #parentsoftiktok #momsoftictok #dadsoftiktok #justiceforjordan #missyoumore ♬ original sound – Jenn
Jordan reportedly sent the scammers $300, but the men were relentless in their communications with him in the six hours between their initial contact and his eventual suicide, even responding to Jordan’s message that he was thinking of taking his own life, saying, “Good. Do that fast.”
Buta’s TikTok account contains a number of videos alerting people to the issue. The ABC story noted that, according to an FBI official, “there were over 7,000 reported sextortion cases against children in the U.S. in 2022.” However, the official suspected that the number was actually closer to 100,000, with boys aged 14-17 being a primary target.
Commenters expressed sympathy for Jordan’s family and horror over the situation.
One said, “I am a health teacher a few hours south of you and have been telling Jordan’s story in my classes since it happened. Thank you for your story.”
Buta replied, “You are amazing for bringing this knowledge to the kids!!! Parents can talk and talk but sometimes coming from others they hear it.”
Another remarked, “I have never heard of sextortion. Thank you for sharing your story so that I can share with my daughter. So sorry for your loss.”
Others talked about how common these types of scams are—though they typically don’t lead to the level of tragedy that affected Jordan and his family.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Buta via TikTok direct message.
For more information about suicide prevention or to speak with someone confidentially, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (U.S.) or Samaritans (U.K.).