Freddy Buhl

In the days following the new year, a tragedy befell the Seattle hip-hop community with the death of 22-year-old Frederick E. Buhl. A Black male known to his fans as Freddy E, he was a rising artist and the creator of the popular YouTube channel "Jerk TV," which had amassed thousands of subscribers and millions of views. His life, however, came to a sudden and heartbreaking end on January 5, 2013, in the city of Renton, just south of Seattle.

On that Saturday, authorities were called to a ...