Fil-Am family in Oakland wants police to re-open probe of gay son’s death

Jaxon Sales, 20, was found dead at the age of 20 in a San Francisco apartment on March 2, 2020. SCREENSHOT

A Filipino family in Oakland, California is demanding that San Francisco police re-open the investigation into the true cause of their adopted gay son’s death two years ago.

Jaxon Sales was found dead at the age of 20 in a San Francisco apartment on March 2, 2020. He reportedly had met a man on a dating app, and that there were drugs in his system. Jim Sales and Angie Aquino-Sales adopted Jaxon and his older brother from Korea when they were babies.

Now, their  Change.Org petition to re-open the investigation has amassed more than 40,000 signatures. State Senator Scott Wiener also wrote letter asking SFPD and the medical examiner “just to make sure this family knows exactly what happened.”

Jim Sales and Angie Aquino-Sales adopted Jaxon (left) and his older brother from Korea when they were babies. SCREENSHOT

SFPD released a statement to ABC7 News reporter Dion Lim saying there were no signs of foul play. The Sales family, however, claims that SFPD and the medical examiner did not do enough to find the true cause of Jaxon’s death.

“We spent the first year trying to get reports,” Angie Sales told ABC7 News.

They also believe their son’s case was dismissed as an “accidental overdose” because of his sexual orientation. “Jaxon is Asian, he is gay. When I heard the medical examiner say (the drug) GHB…and the gay community uses GHB… it was very dismissive.”

Regardless of the outcome, the Sales family hopes their effort will inspire other families of children in the LGBTQ community to have a voice.