In a quiet Tacoma home, the life of 66-year-old Caucasian male Kevin Fordham came to a violent end on the afternoon of June 12, 2025. The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office would later confirm that Fordham died from a shotgun wound to the head, ruling his death a homicide. The tragic event unfolded in the 5800 block of Pacific Avenue, where Fordham was discovered unresponsive in a recliner chair within his own living room.
Responding to a dispatch call shortly before 5:30 p.m.,
Tacoma police officers arrived at the residence to find a grim scene. Despite immediate life-saving efforts, Fordham was pronounced dead at the scene by Tacoma Fire Department personnel. The initial investigation quickly pointed towards a suspect who was present at the location.
The man taken into custody without incident was identified as 45-year-old Jason Matthew Frederick, Kevin Fordham's stepson. Frederick was subsequently booked into the Pierce County Jail and charged with first-degree murder. In court, he pleaded not guilty to the charge, and his bail was set at $1 million.
According to charging documents, the motive behind the tragic patricide appeared to stem from a place of deep-seated paranoia. Frederick’s mother informed detectives that her son had been exhibiting "abnormally paranoid" behavior that was intensely focused on his stepfather. Following his arrest, Frederick made several allegations against Fordham, including a claim that he was being starved by him. In a statement to the police, Frederick allegedly admitted to the shooting, explaining a growing intensity in their relationship that led him to believe, "It got to feeling like it was gonna be me or him first."
