Brutal Murder Of Gay Teenager Shock Friends And Family
Posted: 19th Nov 2009 Author: Michelle Penny Topics: News
Jason Mattison Jr, 15 was last week found dead in his aunt’s house where he had been raped, gagged with a pillow case, stabbed repeatedly in the head and throat and then shoved into an upstairs closet.
A student at the West Baltimore’s Vivian T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy, Jason was a proud gay teenager who always was ready with a sharp, witty comeback when anyone tried to harrass him because of his sexuality, with his English teacher, Ryan C Jones, telling The Baltimore Sun that “Even if it hurt him, he gave the other person the impression he was stronger”. He also commented on how Jason was one of the most popular students at this school, who was also seen by his teachers to be a talented and motivated student.
A suspect, Dante Parrish, 35, who is also a longtime friend of the family, has been charged with first-degree murder, with Jason’s cousin, Laquanna Couplin, who lives in the house where Jason was found not being willing to comment on whether Parrish was actually living in the house at the time of the murder complaining there are too many different stories flying around and that she and the family are “…hoping that justice is served and that the person who is responsible for this goes to prison and doesn’t get out.”
There is however some difference of opinion within the wider family with Jason’s paternal grandmother, Wanda Williams, questioning how the relatives living in the house could have allowed the boy to be in the same house with Parrish, a convicted killer released early because of flaws in his case. A Baltimore police officer wouldn’t say why Jason was staying at his aunts but did say that the teen had a “forced sexual relationship” with Parish.
