Episode 46: MYSTERIOUS DEATH: Terron Evans Jr. - Potsdam, NY

A mother and son advocating for justice and equality, a small town that is anything but diverse, and a young activist found dead in the home of two police informants. What really happened to Terron Evans, Jr.?

Episode Summary

Terron Evans, Jr. was born on February 24, 1994, and was deeply loved by his family and community. In the summer of 2020, Terron moved from Syracuse to Potsdam, New York, to live with his mother, Jennifer, and support her activism during a time of heightened racial tension and scrutiny of law enforcement in the North Country. Jennifer Baxtron was organizing protests, founding the local Black Lives Matter chapter, and publicly challenging law enforcement and prosecutors over cases such as Garrett Phillips, Nick Hillary, and Treyanna Summerville. Just days before Terron’s death, she again spoke out about police leadership and the need for reform.

On January 8, 2021, police responded to a 911 call from the home of Terron’s on-again, off-again girlfriend. Terron was pronounced dead at the scene. His death was ruled a Wellbutrin overdose despite no pill bottles being found, no residue or vomit present, and toxicology results that do not clearly support ingestion. The 911 call has never been released, and four of the five responding officers’ body camera videos remain withheld. FOIA records also show police activity logged hours before Terron was officially discovered. The woman Terron was staying with, who had previously threatened to kill him, and her adult son were later revealed to be police informants. Their statements changed multiple times and focused heavily on portraying Terron as mentally unstable. Investigators did not address key contradictions, and the case was quickly closed.

Terron did not use drugs and remained close with his family while building his future. Today, his family continues to seek answers about what really happened.

If you have information about the death of Terron Evans, Jr., please contact the New York State Attorney General’s Office at 1-800-771-7755.

Call to Action

You can help by:

• Signing the Justice For Terron Evans, Jr, Garrett Phillips, and Treyanna Summerville (all of St Lawrence County) petition
• Request for the Attorney General to take over Terron's case. An example letter/email/call can be found in the show notes of the Garrett Phillips episode.
• Contact New York Governor Kathy Hochul, requesting an independent investigation by the NYS Attorney General
• Contact the St. Lawrence County Attorney and demand the release of the initial 911 call

Jennifer Baxtron has provided a Linktree with contact information, petitions, documents, body-camera footage, and a GoFundMe. Please take the time to review and share these resources.

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