Advocates continue push for law in boy's honor

Supporters of a law named for a Grifton boy killed by his father in 2012 will hold an online Angelversary on Saturday.

Jesse Ray Adams, 3, was shot and killed on July 13, 2012, at 1072 Wiley Gaskins Road by his father who then turned the gun on himself. The man was on the phone with Adams’ mother, Christy Melvin, when he killed the boy. Melvin had recently filed for divorce.

Jesse’s Law would mandate provisions such as North Carolina family court judges training in types of abuse, child abuse and domestic violence, according to the Jesse Ray Adams Foundation. Melvin founded the group to spur state legislators into action to protect children whose parents are involved in divorce or custody disputes.

Supporters of the law lobbied the state legislature on April 30, when they spoke with aides and several members of the General Assembly. Melvin has held events in Pitt County and Raleigh since 2022.

At 6:30 p.m. Saturday the Jesse Ray Adams Foundation will release a remembrance video on social media that asks the public to remember Jesse and keep in mind families, children, victims of abuse and domestic violence and family courts.