A warning to readers that this story contains discussions of suicide and sensitive sexual subject matter.
In southern Kentucky, the Barren County community is grieving the unthinkable. Local teenager Eli Heacock died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound last month and investigators are looking into what role a financial sextortion scheme played in the death.
Family and friends say Heacock was like many 16-year-olds. He loved to laugh, play sports, and hang out with his best friend Harrison Ely, a fellow classmate at Caverna High School.
“Some of my best memories with him has to be the basketball games,” Harrison told WKU Public Radio. “He was a big supporter of his school. Didn’t matter if we were winning or losing, he was still cheering.”
Ely recently attended a proclamation signing where Judge-Executive Jamie Bewley Byrd declared March 19 as Suicide Prevention Awareness Day in Barren County.
Harrison wore a T-shirt featuring a photo collage of himself and Eli with the words, “Fly high my brother and best friend.”
Described as a prankster who lit up a room, Eli loved life. But he took his life on Feb 28.
His mother, Shannon Heacock, says he was close to getting his driver’s license and she surprised him that day by picking him up from school in a new Jeep, his first vehicle.
“He was ecstatic,” Heacock recalled. “We drove and he held my hand as we were switching gears so I could show him how to do a 5-speed.”
They went to get his hair cut and picked up some flowers for his favorite teacher before heading home for the night. Just before bedtime, mother and son made plans to go out for coffee the next morning.
But at 11:30 p.m. on that Thursday night, Eli’s twin sister found him on the floor of the laundry room with a gun lying next to his feet.
His dad, John Burnett, said Eli was not a depressed kid.
“Eli had a ton of stuff in front of him. He wasn’t upset or angry. There was no breakup with a girlfriend. Even the cops told us he was a well adjusted young man,” Burnett said. “He had his driver’s license he was looking forward to. He had tennis. He had track. He was excited about all these things.”
In the search for answers as to why Eli took his own life, investigators made a shocking revelation. During a search of Eli’s phone, AI-generated images used to extort the young man were discovered. The offender created the images, some sexually explicit, and sent them to Eli. They then threatened to release the pictures unless Eli sent them $3,000.
His best friend Harrison recalled Eli texting him that night and asking to borrow money.
“I didn’t know what it was about, but I only had $8 in my Cash App at the time. I didn’t think nothing of it. I fell asleep and I woke up and checked my phone,” Harrison remembered. “The last message I got from him was, ‘I love you so much,’ and that still hits me hard.”
Eli sent $50 to the perpetrator who said that wasn’t enough.
“There’s never enough money that can be sent for this to stop, so our kids are suffering mentally and it’s continuous,” said Lt. Mike Bowling, commander of the Kentucky State Police Electronic Crime Branch. “It’s devastating and tragically linked to self harm.”
According to Bowling, KSP is seeing a rise in AI-generated or what’s sometimes called “deep fake” exploitation. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 26,000 reports of financial sextortion in 2023, up from just over 10,000 reports the previous year.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bill into law this month, making sextortion a felony. It also mandates education about sextortion in schools and in law enforcement agencies.
“But to all the parents, watch what your kids do online,” Gov. Andy Beshear said during a recent news conference. “They might not like it, but you provide a level of protection that’s so necessary in today’s world.”
Eli’s parents have now resolved to help other families avoid the same tragedy.
”There are things that can be done when you’re put in this situation,” said Burnett. “Had Eli known that, maybe he wouldn’t have been under so much pressure.”
“Whoever did this, they picked the wrong child because they picked the mama that’s not gonna back down,” Shannon Heacock stressed.
The FBI continues to investigate. The family hopes the exploiter will be caught and charged with murder.
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or be in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
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