He was killed by the Memphis Safe Task Force after a suicide call. Four months later, family and friends are still wrestling with his death.
Jessica Neal’s son Jonah Neal was killed by the Memphis Safe Task Force. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
On a winter day in 2018, Jonah Neal and Matthew Seifert drove to Carpenters Lake in Owensboro, Kentucky.
The temperature was below freezing and the water was nearly iced over, but the two teenagers didn’t care. They loved being outdoors, and they frequently went to the lake to chat and skip rocks.
On this particular day, however, they grew bored. They draped a blanket over Seifert’s Chevy Trailblazer, climbed on top and perched and hooted like owls.
This was emblematic of Neal’s character. With strangers, he was quiet, reserved and shy. But with close friends, he was a vivacious free spirit who wielded toy lightsabers and studied astrology and belted out his favorite songs during car rides.
“With us, he was authentically Jonah, and that was a goofball,” Seifert said. “A kind, loving goofball.”
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Memphis Safe Task Force Jonah Neal Mental health Alcoholism Subscriber OnlyThank you for reading The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.
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John Klyce
John Klyce is an enterprise reporter with The Daily Memphian who writes a wide range of in-depth features, as well as profiles about local leaders, scientists, musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, and anyone else doing exciting and important work in this city. He previously spent four years with the Memphis Business Journal, where he covered public companies, startups, and innovation, and a fifth year with The Commercial Appeal, where he covered education, and chronicled how gun violence and poverty were affecting Memphis youth and their families. He has also been a fellow with the Institute for Citizens and Scholars. John has a B.A. in journalism from the University of Memphis and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Boston University.
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