Oklahoma police confirm sex offender fatally shot 6, then killed self: Updates

HENRYETTA, Okla. − Two days after the grisly discovery of seven bodies at a rural Oklahoma home, authorities confirmed Wednesday that a convicted sex offender shot his wife, her three children, and their two friends in the head before killing himself.

Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice said the victims had sustained between one and three gunshot wounds to the head when they were found Monday near a creek and heavily wooded area. Jesse McFadden, a 39-year-old convicted sex offender, then moved the bodies from where they were originally killed and shot himself, Prentice said in the first major update on the case.

"The evidence is that Jesse McFadden murdered six people and then killed himself. Beyond that, I don’t know what his thought process was," Prentice said Wednesday. "I’m not going to express a theory because I follow the evidence, and I don’t have any evidence about what the motive was."

Authorities said McFadden shot his victims in the head, some two or three times, before turning the weapon on himself.

Authorities also officially identified the six victims as McFadden's wife, Holly Guess, 35, and her children, Rylee Elizabeth Allen, 17; Michael James Mayo, 15; and Tiffany Dore Guess, 13; as well as Tiffany's friends Ivy Webster, 14, and Brittany Brewer, 15.

The seven bodies discovered near McFadden’s home in Henryetta, a town of about 6,000 about 90 miles east of Oklahoma City, came on the day that he was supposed to stand trial on charges that he solicited nude images from another teen while he was imprisoned for rape.

The deaths keep the U.S. on a torrid pace for mass killings in 2023, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA TODAY in a partnership with Northeastern University.

Developments:

∙ Janette Mayo, 59, of Westville, Oklahoma, said authorities notified her that her daughter, Holly Guess, 35, and her grandchildren, Rylee Elizabeth Allen, 17; Michael James Mayo, 15; and Tiffany Dore Guess, 13, were among the dead.

∙ Authorities said other remains were believed to include those of Ivy Webster, 14, and Brittany Brewer, 15, along with Jesse McFadden, 39, a felon the state's sex offender registry.

McFadden swore not to return to prison amid charges

According to screen grabs of messages forwarded to KOKI in Tulsa, McFadden said he would not return to prison in a series of messages with a now 23-year-old woman he had allegedly groomed from prison.

In the messages, McFadden said he was having success at a marketing job and "making great money." His "great life" was now crumbling, he wrote, because of the soliciting and possessing images of child sex abuse charges.

"Now it’s all gone," he wrote. "I told you I wouldn’t go back."

"This is all on you for continuing this," he said.

Father of victim wants tougher penalties

Justin Webster, Ivy's father, said he is frustrated with the lack of information available to families.

"I wanted to go on the land and get the answers myself. I know I can’t, but we need to be told answer of everything here soon," Webster told KJRH-TV. "I'm tried of hearing (that) we can't know right now."

He also said he hopes this whole ordeal leads to longer prison sentences for sex offenders, especially those who target children.

“The sexual (offender) registry doesn’t work,” he said. “I think there needs to be action taken. There needs to be repercussions, and someone needs to be held accountable. They let a monster out. They did this.”

Holly Guess, McFadden were married less than a year

Holly Guess and McFadden were married May 26, 2022, in Okmulgee. Their marriage certificate lists Guess' married name to be Holly McFadden.

Mayo said the sheriff’s office told her that her daughter and grandchildren were all found shot to death in various locations on McFadden’s property. Mayo called McFadden a "monster" and accused him of the killings.

Family recently learned of McFadden's criminal history

Janette Mayo said Ivy and Brittany were close friends of Tiffany and were spending the weekend with the family. Mayo said it wasn't until a few months ago that the family learned McFadden had been convicted of first-degree rape in 2003 and was in prison until October 2020. Court records also show McFadden was scheduled to appear in court Monday for the start of a jury trial on charges of soliciting sexual conduct with a minor and possession of child pornography.

Mayo said McFadden lied to her daughter, convincing her the rape case was just a "huge mistake."

“Holly was a loving, forgiving person,” Mayo said. “She gave second chances when she shouldn’t have, and (McFadden) was one of those. She gave second chances to him and believed what he said, and she shouldn’t have.”

'My daughter was there for everything'

Mayo implored the public to remember that her loved ones were just as much victims of McFadden as Ivy and Brittany.

“Holly was the most loving person on the planet,” Mayo said. “She was an overprotective mother, but if my grandchildren needed anything, she made sure they had it. She was at every event they had, every track meet, every cross country meet, every choir concert − my daughter was there for everything.”

Granddaughter Rylee Allen “was into art and painting,” Mayo said, and she wanted to go to college to be a doctor “so that she could help people.”

Michael Mayo “loved video games” but also ran track and cross-country, Mayo said, with a particular interest in football. When he wanted to play football, his mother went out and bought the family T-shirts and sweatshirts to support the team, Mayo said.

Tiffany Guess also ran cross-country, sang with the choir and tried out for cheerleading.

"She was the sweetest, most loving girl you’d ever met. We called her 'Tiffasaurus' because when she’d get mad at you, she’d growl."

Contributing: Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY; Jessie Christopher Smith, The Oklahoman; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 7 bodies found in Oklahoma: Police say sex offender fatally shot 6