Gig Harbor teen’s livestreamed death tied to predatory online group, report says
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Investigation linked Jay Taylor’s 2022 livestreamed death to an extremist group
- FBI traced suspect through subpoenas; German arrest followed in June 2025
- FBI now probes nearly 300 suspects as authorities warn of growing threat
A 13-year-old boy who livestreamed taking his own life in a parking lot in Gig Harbor was talked into killing himself by a young man in Germany who is part of a violent and extreme group that has targeted other vulnerable youths, according to a report published in the Washington Post on Oct. 16.
The report details how the investigation of Jay Taylor’s death on Jan. 17, 2022 extended from Gig Harbor police to the FBI and eventually authorities in Germany, who in June arrested a 20-year-old medical student suspected in Jay’s death. It also describes the emotional and jurisdictional hurdles investigators faced while trying to crack a case with little precedent, and the toll the teen’s death took on his parents, Colby and Leslie Taylor.
Colby Taylor declined an interview Oct. 16 when reached by phone, saying he wasn’t quite sure he was ready to discuss his son’s death. He and his wife, however, shared photos of Jay with The News Tribune and also of his artwork that showed their son was a talented artist.
The Gig Harbor Police Department initially looked at Jay’s death as a suicide, according to the Washington Post’s reporting, but that changed after a video turned up showing his death by hanging behind a grocery store had been livestreamed on Instagram where users watched. Detectives suspected it was connected to online groups that manipulate and extort vulnerable children, one of which is known as “764.”
Started by a boy in Texas who named it for part of his zip code, according to the Washington Post, the FBI has described “764” as a nihilist extremist group with members who target children to sexually exploit online and share images of child porn and victims harming themselves or others.
Gig Harbor detectives later asked the FBI for help, showing agents private chats where the people victimizing Jay had laughed and bragged about coercing him into killing himself.
Lori Maricle, a spokesperson for Gig Harbor, said that Police Chief Tray Federici was in department meetings the afternoon of Oct. 16 and not available to discuss the case. She said as far as she was aware, Jay’s death is an ongoing investigation and the city could not comment. She referred questions to the FBI. The News Tribune requested police reports and dispatch logs in July related to Jay’s death, but the requests were denied Oct. 1 because of the ongoing investigation.
The FBI’s Seattle Field Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
One of the agents who sat down with Gig Harbor police is Pat McMonigle, a 45-year-old Gig Harbor resident who left the FBI in June 2024, due in part to the negative mental effects he experienced from working this case. He’s now running for a position on the Pierce County Charter Review Commission, which will be tasked with evaluating the County Charter for updates or amendments.
Reached by phone the afternoon of Oct. 16, McMonigle did not have time for an interview with The News Tribune. A call later in the day went unanswered.
In interviews with the Washington Post, McMonigle described federal prosecutors’ reluctance to open a criminal case, recalling one interaction outside a bathroom at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle where McMonigle and his partner were told they were wasting their time. A subordinate prosecutor was apparently persuaded to approve subpoenas under laws prohibiting possession and distribution of child sexual-abuse material.
The subpoenas, which could only be served to companies with servers in the United States, turned up data that suggested a 764 member in Germany who referred to himself as “White Tiger,” was central to targeting Jay, according to the Washington Post. In summer 2022, FBI investigators located their suspect, an 18-year-old named Shahriar. News outlets have generally withheld his last name due to German privacy laws.
Shahriar has been charged with the murder of Jay among 123 counts of sexual abuse and violence for harm he allegedly caused eight teenagers from four countries, the Washington Post reported. A defense attorney for Shahriar told the Washington Post the murder charge was an overreach and that Shahriar, now 21, is not guilty.
In February 2023, McMonigle and his partner met with German prosecutors, local and federal police in Hamburg to discuss the chat messages plotting Jay’s death and other evidence linking Shahriar to Jay and other victims.
Years passed before authorities arrested the man. According to the Washington Post, the State Criminal Police Officer, Jan Hieber, said the FBI’s evidence wasn’t admissible in German courts, so they had to start their investigation from scratch.
In the meantime, McMonigle was wracked with guilt over the lack of progress on the case. The Washington Post reported that he requested and was granted reassignment to an administrative job, and after he reported the mental effects he was experiencing from the case, he was ordered to turn in his gun, and his colleagues were interviewed about his fitness to serve. In June 2024, McMonigle left the FBI.
The Washington Post reported that it is unclear whether Shahriar abused any children in the time it took authorities to arrest him. Two months after Jay’s death, he reportedly almost persuaded a 15-year-old girl in Canada to kill herself with a knife.
German officials reportedly said much of the violence Shahriar is accused of was to “satisfy sexual urges” and to “fulfill his perverse power fantasies.” According to the Washington Post, the FBI is now investigating nearly 300 people suspected of preying on children and vulnerable people, and the FBI has said groups like 764 are a growing threat.
This story was originally published October 17, 2025 at 5:15 AM with the headline "Gig Harbor teen’s livestreamed death tied to predatory online group, report says."
