Kevin Fordham, a 66-year-old Caucasian man, was found dead in his Tacoma home on the afternoon of June 12, 2025. He was discovered unresponsive in a recliner chair in the living room of a residence on the 5800 block of Pacific Avenue. Despite life-saving efforts, Tacoma Fire Department personnel pronounced him dead at the scene. The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled the death a homicide, citing a shotgun wound to the head.

Officers responding to a dispatch shortly before 5:30 p.m. took 45-year-old Jason Matthew Frederick, Fordham’s stepson, into custody at the scene without incident. Frederick was booked into the Pierce County Jail and charged with first-degree murder; he pleaded not guilty and bail was set at $1 million. Charging documents say Frederick made statements admitting to the shooting and alleged long-running paranoia directed at his stepfather, including claims he was being starved by Fordham and the belief that it was going to be him or Fordham first.

Does anyone in the Tacoma area have information about the relationship between Fordham and his stepson or about tensions at the Pacific Avenue address?