Oklahoma murders: Jesse McFadden allegedly texted victim’s mom posing as slain teen
Jesse McFadden is believed to have texted the mother of one of his victims posing as the murdered teenager, it has been revealed.
Ivy Webster’s mother told NewsNation that she got a final message from her daughter’s phone on Sunday morning but now thinks McFadden wrote the message pretending to be her daughter.
Authorities said on Wednesday that McFadden shot his six victims in the head with his wife’s gun before “staging” the grisly scene on his rural property.
The victims were identified as McFadden’s wife Holly Guess, 35, her children, Rylee Elizabeth Allen, 17, Michael James Mayo, 15, and Tiffany Dore Guess, 13, as well as two other teenagers Ivy, 14, and Brittany Brewer, 15 – both of whom were friends with Guess’s children.
McFadden was a convicted sex offender who was sent to prison in 2003 for raping Krystle Strong. He was released early in 2020.
Ms Strong told The Independent that she begged several Oklahoma state agencies to halt his early release – which came despite McFadden being hit with fresh charges in 2017 after he was caught using a contraband cell phone to exchange nude photos with a minor.
Key Points
Seven found dead in rural Oklahaoma
'We’ve had our share of troubles and woes, but this one is pretty bad’
Jesse McFadden was accused of sexting with a minor
Everything we know about seven people, including two missing teens, found dead in an Oklahoma home
Mapped: Where the seven bodies were found
McFadden was released three years early over 2003 rape
Thursday 4 May 2023 10:00 , Andrea Blanco
Authorities began a search after McFadden failed to appear at his long-delayed jury trial on Monday in Muskogee County. His body was later discovered along with his wife, her son and daughters, and two other teens who were visiting the family over the weekend.
Now family members of the victims are asking why McFadden, sentenced to 20 years in 2003 for first-degree rape, was freed three years early, in part for good behavior, despite facing new charges that he used a contraband cell phone to trade nude photos with the young woman in 2016. He was released in 2020 after 16 years and nine months, even though the charges could send him back to prison for many years if convicted.
“And they rushed him out of prison. How?” asked Janette Mayo. She said she was told that her daughter, Holly Guess, 35, and her grandchildren, Rylee Elizabeth Allen, 17; Michael James Mayo, 15; and Tiffany Dore Guess, 13, were all shot to death.
“Oklahoma failed to protect families. And because of that my children -- my daughter and my grandchildren -- are all gone,” Ms Mayo told The Associated Press. “I’ve lost my daughter and my grandchildren and I’m never going to get to see ’em, never going to get to hold them, and it’s killing me.”
Victim’s mother says daughter had turned 15 just a week before she was found dead along six others
Thursday 4 May 2023 11:00 , Andrea Blanco
Brittany’s grieving mother Malaina Schabell told NewsNation that her daughter, who had just turned 15 last week, and Ivy had gone to McFadden’s home for a sleepover with Tiffany. Ms Schabell said her daughter had been to McFadden’s at least four times since Christmas without incident and that she was not aware of his convictions.
“She told me she’d call me later and I never heard anything from her which wasn’t normal,” Ms Schabell said through tears. “I knew something was wrong ‘cause she wasn’t answering, I tried to call. I got online on her Facebook and I tried calling her, video calling her, and I messaged her and she wouldn’t respond, and it showed she was online and but she wouldn’t respond, so I knew something was wrong.”
She added: “I’ve been trying, you know, sitting here all day trying to think positive thoughts that ‘She’s gonna come home, she’s gonna come home, she’s gonna come home.’ But you know, I didn’t want to believe she’s gone and I still don’t.”
Victims' families question release of Oklahoma sex offender
Thursday 4 May 2023 12:00 , Andrea Blanco
Relatives of four teenage girls who were among seven people shot to death on a rural Oklahoma property are questioning how a sex offender among the dead — a rapist accused of soliciting nude images from another teen while behind bars — was ever allowed to go free.
Law enforcement authorities have released no details about how they died or who killed them since the bodies were found on Monday. But a series of ominous text messages — sent by Jesse McFadden, 39, to his young accuser hours before his trial was to begin on felony charges of soliciting and possessing images of child sex abuse — suggest that he blamed the woman for ending his “great life” and that he was determined not to return to prison.
According to screen grabs of the messages, forwarded to KOKI in Tulsa by the young woman McFadden allegedly groomed from prison, he said he was having success at a marketing job and “making great money.”
“Now it’s all gone,” he texted. “I told you I wouldn’t go back.
“This is all on you for continuing this,” he finished.
Muskogee County District Attorney Larry Edwards said the young woman shared the text messages with him as well. “They are tragic. Let’s just say that. He more or less blames her for what he did and that’s the part I really have the problem with, because she didn’t do anything wrong,” Edwards told Tulsa-based KOTV.
AP
Jesse McFadden shot victims in head then ‘staged’ scene
Thursday 4 May 2023 12:20 , Rachel Sharp
Horrifying new details have come to light about the mass killing at the Oklahoma home of a convicted rapist.
Authorities said on Wednesday that Jesse McFadden shot his six victims in the head before “staging” the grisly scene on his rural property and then turning the gun on himself.
Seven bodies were discovered at the property on Monday during a frantic search for two teenagers who failed to return home from a slumber party with a friend.
The victims were identified as McFadden’s wife Holly Guess, 35, her children, Rylee Elizabeth Allen, 17, Michael James Mayo, 15, and Tiffany Dore Guess, 13, as well as two other teenagers Ivy Webster, 14, and Brittany Brewer, 15 – both of whom were friends with Guess’s children.
All six had suffered between one and three gunshot wounds in their head, Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice revealed on Wednesday.
The bodies were then moved with the scene “appeared to be staged” by McFadden.
Guess, Michael and Tiffany were found together outside on the property while the bodies of Ivy, Brittany and Rylee were found in separate locations – about 150 yards apart from each other, officials said.
Victims were killed by handgun bought by McFadden’s wife last year
Thursday 4 May 2023 12:40 , Rachel Sharp
Convicted rapist Jesse McFadden used his wife’s handgun to kill her, her three children and the children’s two teenage friends, it has been revealed.
McFadden’s wife Holly Guess, 35, her children, Rylee Elizabeth Allen, 17, Michael James Mayo, 15, and Tiffany Dore Guess, 13, and teenagers Ivy Webster, 14, and Brittany Brewer, 15 were shot dead by McFadden at his Oklahoma property.
He then turned the gun on himself.
On Wednesday, authorities announced that the six victims were “murdered” by McFadden with a handgun Guess had purchased in 2022.
Grandmother shares heartbreak after two grandchildren identified among seven bodies found in Oklahoma
Thursday 4 May 2023 13:00 , Andrea Blanco
OSBI spokesperson Gerald Davidson said during a press conference that although the victims have not been officially identified by the medical examiner, three of them were believed to be the missing teens, 14-year-old Ivy Webster and 15-year-old Brittany Brewer, and McFadden. On Tuesday, the other four victims were identified by relatives as McFadden’s wife Holly Guess, 35, and her children Rylee Elizabeth Allen, 17, Michael James Mayo, 15, and Tiffany Dore Guess, 13.
Judy White-Allen, the grandmother of Rylee and Michael and former mother-in-law of Guess, said her family is still processing the devastating tragedy.
“My kids are hurting. My son lost his daughter and son,” Ms White-Allen told The Independent. “My other kids lost their niece and nephew. My grandkids lost their cousins. Rylee and Michael have [four] other siblings that will never know them.”
The grandmother also described her former daughter-in-law Guess as a “great mother” with a “big heart”.
Questions mount as to why McFadden was freed from prison
Thursday 4 May 2023 13:20 , Rachel Sharp
Questions continue to mount as to why Jesse McFadden was freed from prison to carry out the horror attack.
McFadden was convicted of first-degree rape in 2003 before being released in 2020.
However, during that time behind bars, he was hit with new charges of soliciting sexual conduct with a minor and possession of child pornography.
McFadden had allegedly exchanged nude photos and videos with an underage girl from behind bars.
Despite the charges, he was released in 2020.
He was due in court on Monday morning for the start of his trial on those charges.
Lee Berlin, a Tulsa-based defense attorney, told The Associated Press that there was a “panoply of errors” in the McFadden case.
“I’m a sex-crimes defense attorney – this is all I do all day every day – and I’m like, how the hell does that happen?” he asked.
Victim’s mother says McFadden controlled her
Thursday 4 May 2023 13:40 , Rachel Sharp
The mother and grandmother of the shooting victims has spoken out about the control Jesse McFadden had over her daughter.
The victims were identified as McFadden’s wife Holly Guess, 35, her children, Rylee Elizabeth Allen, 17, Michael James Mayo, 15, and Tiffany Dore Guess, 13, as well as two other teenagers Ivy Webster, 14, and Brittany Brewer, 15 – both of whom were friends with Guess’s children.
Guess’ mother Janette Mayo told KJRH that Guess had moved from Westville to Henryetta with McFadden and that he was controlling of her.
“He was the one telling Holly where she could go, when she could go, who she could talk to. If we took one of the kids, he would track their cellphones,” she said.
She said that she only learned of McFadden’s past crimes a few months ago and tried to tell her daughter.
But, she said that McFadden “fed her a ton of lies” about what had happened.
Oklahoma sex offender texted victim ‘this is all on you’ hours before seven bodies found at his property
Thursday 4 May 2023 14:00 , Andrea Blanco
An Oklahoma convicted rapist texted his alleged soliciting victim the night before seven bodies were found on his property.
The Oklahoma State of Bureau Investigations (OSBI) announced on Monday that seven bodies were found on the Henryetta property of 39-year-old Jesse McFadden. The gruesome discovery was made after two teens went missing in the area on Sunday.
McFadden, who was on the sex offender registry, failed to show up in court on Monday morning to stand trial on charges of soliciting sexual conduct with a minor and possession of child pornography. The victim in that case has since revealed that McFadden reportedly texted her the night before authorities found the seven victims.
“I did exactly what I promised I would do when I got out,” the text, exclusively obtained by FOX 23, read. “I got a marketing job making great money and was being advanced been there 2 years now and made a great life like I promised I would do with you.”
“Now it’s all gone, I told you I wouldn’t go back ... This is all on you for continuing this,” another set of texts stated.
Who is the convicted rapist who killed six people before turning gun on himself?
Thursday 4 May 2023 14:23 , Andrea Blanco
Jesse McFadden, 39, had been scheduled to appear in court on the same day that the bodies were found on his rural property.
Also killed were two teenagers who were reported missing and endangered on Monday morning after they failed to return home after being in his company.
The identities of the other four victims are yet to be publicly confirmed, but relatives named then as McFadden’s wife Holly Guess and her teenage children Rylee Elizabeth Allen, Michael James Mayo, and Tiffany Dore Guess.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has more:
Who is Jesse McFadden, the convicted rapist at centre of Oklahoma body discovery?
School pays tribute to ‘several students’ killed
Thursday 4 May 2023 14:43 , Andrea Blanco
Henryetta Public Schools released a statement saying that it is “grieving over the tragedy of the loss of several of our students”.
“Our hearts are hurting, and we have considered what would be best for our students in the coming days,” the school system said.
Classes will still take place but mental health services are available to students.
“We understand if you feel it is more appropriate to keep your student at home. Please continue to keep these families in your thoughts and prayers.
Sex offender Jesse McFadden had early release for ‘good behaviour’ after he was sentenced for rape in 2003
Thursday 4 May 2023 15:23 , Andrea Blanco
Authorities began a search after McFadden failed to appear at his long-delayed jury trial on Monday in Muskogee County. His body was later discovered along with his wife, her son and daughters, and two other teens who were visiting the family over the weekend.
Now family members of the victims are asking why McFadden, sentenced to 20 years in 2003 for first-degree rape, was freed three years early, in part for good behavior, despite facing new charges that he used a contraband cell phone to trade nude photos with the young woman in 2016. He was released in 2020 after 16 years and nine months, even though the charges could send him back to prison for many years if convicted.
“And they rushed him out of prison. How?” asked Janette Mayo. She said she was told that her daughter, Holly Guess, 35, and her grandchildren, Rylee Elizabeth Allen, 17; Michael James Mayo, 15; and Tiffany Dore Guess, 13, were all shot to death.
“Oklahoma failed to protect families. And because of that my children -- my daughter and my grandchildren -- are all gone,” Ms Mayo told The Associated Press. “I’ve lost my daughter and my grandchildren and I’m never going to get to see ’em, never going to get to hold them, and it’s killing me.”
‘They let a monster out’
Thursday 4 May 2023 15:53 , Andrea Blanco
Two missing teenage girls have been found dead in a house in Oklahoma, along with their suspected abductor and four other people, authorities said.
Brittany Brewer, 15, and Ivy Webster, 14, were named in an amber alert on Monday morning after disappearing while in the company of a convicted rapist named Jesse McFadden, 39.
According to local broadcaster KOTV-DT, the girls had gone to spend the weekend with Jesse McFadden, which Brittany’s father said had happened many times before without incident.
Ivy’s father, Justin Webster, said he filed a missing person report with the local sheriff’s office when she didn’t return home on Sunday night after spending the weekend with McFadden, Holy Guess and her children – Rylee Elizabeth Allen, Michael James Mayo and Tiffany Dore Guess. Mr Webster said he thought the children went with McFadden to spend some time on a ranch where he was working near McAlester.
He said law enforcement officials also told him that all of the victims suffered gunshot wounds, that some had been lined up and were located across the property.
Mr Webster described McFadden as controlling and unusual, but said he had no idea about his criminal background.
“I would say he was weird,” Mr Webster said. “He was always getting into his kids’ phones and reading all their snap messages and all that. It wasn’t in a way of a concerned parent. It was more of keeping tabs on the kids.”
McFadden had been 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. Court records showed he was communicating with a then-16-year-old girl using a contraband cellphone while incarcerated at a state prison near Muskogee. The teen’s grandfather reported their communications to prison officials, according to an affidavit from a Department of Corrections investigator.
Webster hopes the entire ordeal leads to harsher criminal penalties 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.”
Jesse McFadden’s rape victim reveals she ‘tried to stop his release’ three years before murders
Thursday 4 May 2023 16:39 , Andrea Blanco
McFadden, who was on the state’s sex offender registry, was previously convicted of first-degree rape in 2003. The victim in that attack, 35-year-old Krystle Strong, told Fox News in an exclusive interview that she was told Guess had recently found out McFadden was allegedly molesting one of her children.
“Holly’s ex told me … he thinks that Holly found out that [McFadden] might have been molesting one of the kids and just, he flipped,” Ms Strong told the network.
Just hours before the gruesome discovery on Monday, McFadden texted his alleged victim in the pending trial, seemingly attempting to blame her for how the tragedy unfolded, according to texts exclusively obtained by FOX 23.
“We don’t know, but I think it might have had something maybe to do with that, something about his trial coming up, because what he screenshotted and what Jesse texted and said to [the most recent victim] was, and I quote, ‘This is all going to be on you,’” Ms Strong told Fox News.
Family launches GoFundMe for funeral expenses
Thursday 4 May 2023 17:37 , Andrea Blanco
The family of four of the victims has launched a GoFundMe to help pay for funeral expenses.
“Hi my name is Heather Pettigrew. May 1, 2023 we found out my sister Holly (35), my niece Rylee (17) my nephew Michael (15) and my niece Tiffany (13) were murdered by my sisters husband,” it reads.
“We are trying to get help to cover the costs of the funeral and memorial services for 4 of the kindest people I have ever had the please of knowing. This is a huge tragedy not just for my family but all of our friends and the community. So much was lost so quickly and any help is greatly appreciated.”
Jesse McFadden’s rape victim speaks out
Thursday 4 May 2023 18:17 , Andrea Blanco
Authorities in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, confirmed that the crime scene in a property Henryetta where seven bodies were found on Monday was a murder-suicide.
Jesse McFadden, a 39-year-old convicted sex offender who was set to stand trial the very that the gruesome discovery was made, fatally shot his wife Holly Guess, 35, and her children Rylee Elizabeth Allen, 17, Michael James Mayo, 15, and Tiffany Dore Guess, 13. McFadden also killed Ivy Webster, 14, and Brittany Brewer, 15, both of whom were friends with Guess’s children, before “appearing to stage” the scene and killing himself.
Now, a woman who was raped by McFadden in 2003 — and whose attack sent him to prison for 16 years — has come forward with claims that she begged state and county agencies to deny his early release in 2020. McFadden was freed three years early, in part for good behaviour, despite being hit with fresh charges in 2016 after he was caught using a contraband cell phone to exchange nude photos with a minor.
“I found out that he was getting out and I called the jail,” Krystle Strong told The Independent. “I believe I left a voicemail and tried to get transferred and I kept getting the runaround.”
Ms Strong added: “They were like, ‘Oh, I’ll call you back.’ I told them, ‘Look, I’ve called you guys over the years several times trying to get updates and I’ve seen that you guys are still going to let him out even after you found contraband child porn on his phone. If this doesn’t show that somebody isn’t rehabilitated, then I don’t know what else would.’”
Grandmother shares heartbreak after two grandchildren identified among seven bodies found in Oklahoma
Thursday 4 May 2023 20:05 , Andrea Blanco
OSBI spokesperson Gerald Davidson said during a press conference that although the victims have not been officially identified by the medical examiner, three of them were believed to be the missing teens, 14-year-old Ivy Webster and 15-year-old Brittany Brewer, and McFadden. On Tuesday, the other four victims were identified by relatives as McFadden’s wife Holly Guess, 35, and her children Rylee Elizabeth Allen, 17, Michael James Mayo, 15, and Tiffany Dore Guess, 13.
Judy White-Allen, the grandmother of Rylee and Michael and former mother-in-law of Guess, said her family is still processing the devastating tragedy.
“My kids are hurting. My son lost his daughter and son,” Ms White-Allen told The Independent. “My other kids lost their niece and nephew. My grandkids lost their cousins. Rylee and Michael have [four] other siblings that will never know them.”
The grandmother also described her former daughter-in-law Guess as a “great mother” with a “big heart”.
Rape victim reveals how she tried to stop Oklahoma’s slumber party killer: ‘The whole system failed’
Thursday 4 May 2023 20:33 , Andrea Blanco
“[They failed,] the whole system, the police, I’m pissed,” Krystle Strong tells The Independent. ‘The hardest thing is the fact that these babies lost their lives and they didn’t get a chance to live’.
Read more:
Rape victim reveals how she tried to stop Oklahoma’s slumber party killer
McFadden texted victim in 2017 case ‘this is all on you’
Thursday 4 May 2023 21:35 , Andrea Blanco
The victim in McFadden’s most recent case has revealed that McFadden reportedly texted her the night before authorities found the seven victims.
“I did exactly what I promised I would do when I got out,” the text, exclusively obtained by FOX 23, read. “I got a marketing job making great money and was being advanced been there 2 years now and made a great life like I promised I would do with you.”
“Now it’s all gone, I told you I wouldn’t go back ... This is all on you for continuing this,” another set of texts stated.
Oklahoma convicted rapist’s mother-in-law says he lied about criminal past
Thursday 4 May 2023 22:37 , Andrea Blanco
The grieving mother-in-law of the Oklahoma sex offender accused of killing six people including her daughter and three grandchildren said that he lied to her family about his criminal past.
The Oklahoma State of Bureau Investigations (OSBI) announced on Monday that seven bodies were found on the Henryetta property of 39-year-old convict Jesse McFadden.
Okmulgee police chief Joe Prentice said that the victims had each been shot in the head one to three times with a 9 mm pistol when they were found near a creek and in a heavily wooded area in rural Oklahoma.
More in this report:
Oklahoma convicted rapist’s mother-in-law says he lied about criminal past
Mother of Oklahoma teen found dead opens up about heartbreak
Thursday 4 May 2023 23:00 , Andrea Blanco
Brittany Brewer’s grieving mother Malaina Schabell told NewsNation that her daughter, who had just turned 15 last week, and Ivy had gone to McFadden’s home for a sleepover with Tiffany. Ms Schabell said her daughter had been to McFadden’s at least four times since Christmas without incident and that she was not aware of his convictions.
“She told me she’d call me later and I never heard anything from her which wasn’t normal,” Ms Schabell said through tears.
“I knew something was wrong ‘cause she wasn’t answering, I tried to call. I got online on her Facebook and I tried calling her, video calling her, and I messaged her and she wouldn’t respond, and it showed she was online and but she wouldn’t respond, so I knew something was wrong.”
Why was Jesse McFadden free?
Friday 5 May 2023 00:00 , Andrea Blanco
Families of the victims have voiced outrage at McFadden’s early release in 2020 after he was hit with fresh charges in 2017 for exchanging nude pictures with a minor while in jail.
“And they rushed him out of prison. How?” Guess’ mother Jannette Mayo, told the Associated Press. “Oklahoma failed to protect families. And because of that my children, my daughter and my grandchildren are all gone ... I’m never going to get to see ’em, never going to get to hold them, and it’s killing me.”
“He lied to my daughter, and he convinced her it was all just a huge mistake,” the grieving grandmother said. “He was very standoffish, generally very quiet, but he kept my daughter and the kids basically under lock and key. He had to know where they were at all times, which sent red flags up.”
Justin Webster, who said he allowed his daughter Ivy to join a sleepover at the McFadden home not knowing anything about the man’s past, raised similar concerns about McFadden’s release.
“To get to save some other children, to make a change is what I want to do,” Webster told the AP on Tuesday, nothing he was determined to “tell Ivy’s story and our story and get our government officials and everybody to start speaking up loud and keeping those paedophiles in jail.”
‘The whole system failed’: Jesse McFadden’s rape victim speaks out
Friday 5 May 2023 01:00 , Andrea Blanco
“[They failed,] the whole system, the police, I’m pissed,” Krystle Strong tells The Independent. ‘The hardest thing is the fact that these babies lost their lives and they didn’t get a chance to live’.
The Independent has more:
Rape victim reveals how she tried to stop Oklahoma’s slumber party killer
Victims’ relatives create fundraisers to cover funerals as they reel from devastating tragedy
Friday 5 May 2023 02:00 , Andrea Blanco
Holly Guess’ sister Heather Pettigrew has started a GoFundMe account to cover funeral expenses.
“This is a huge tragedy not just for my family but all of our friends and the community,” Ms Pettigrew wrote in the description of the fundraiser. “So much was lost so quickly and any help is greatly appreciated.”
A GoFundMe page in memory of Brittany Brewer has also been set up.
“This is undoubtedly one of the most difficult times they will ever experience and they need to be focused on their healing instead of worrying about how they are going to pay for Brittany’s funeral,” a message alongside the fundraiser reads.
Jesse McFadden used 9 mm pistol to kill victims
Friday 5 May 2023 03:00 , Andrea Blanco
Questions mounted Thursday about why an Oklahoma sex offender who authorities say shot to death his wife, her three children and their two friends and then killed himself was freed from prison despite facing new sex charges in a separate case.
Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice said each victim had been shot in the head one to three times with a 9 mm pistol when they were found Monday near a creek in a heavily wooded area in rural Oklahoma.
The bodies apparently had been moved there from where they were originally killed, the scene “staged” before Jesse McFadden, a 39-year-old convicted sex offender, killed himself, Prentice said Wednesday. The bodies were discovered near McFadden’s home in Henryetta, a town of about 6,000 about 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of Oklahoma City.
The gruesome discovery came Monday - the very day that McFadden was to stand trial on charges that he solicited nude images from a teen while he was in prison for rape. McFadden was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in 2003 for first-degree rape. He was freed in 2020, three years early, in part for good behavior.
He faced new charges while still in prison. accused of using a contraband cellphone in 2016 to trade nude photos with a 16-year-old girl. Court records show McFadden was charged with the new crimes in 2017 after a relative of the victim alerted authorities. He was rearrested a month after he was released in October 2020 and released on $25,000 bond.
A teenage sleepover, a convicted rapist and seven bodies: What we know about Oklahoma tragedy
Friday 5 May 2023 04:00 , Andrea Blanco
Two teenagers planned a sleepover with a friend. They planned to go swimming at a local ranch in Oklahoma.
But they were never seen alive again.
On Monday, their bodies were discovered among seven people found dead on a rural property near Henryetta.
Among the other bodies was that of a convicted rapist who was due to stand trial on child porn and solicitation charges that very day.
Here’s everything we know about this tragedy:
What we know about discovery of seven bodies in Oklahoma
Who is the convicted rapist at centre of discovery of seven bodies in Oklahoma?
Friday 5 May 2023 05:00 , Andrea Blanco
Convicted rapist Jesse McFadden, 39, had been scheduled to appear in court on child porn charges on the same day that seven bodies were found on his rural Oklahoma property.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has more:
Who is Jesse McFadden, the convicted rapist at centre of Oklahoma body discovery?
School pays tribute to ‘several students’ killed
Friday 5 May 2023 06:00 , Andrea Blanco
Henryetta Public Schools released a statement saying that it is “grieving over the tragedy of the loss of several of our students”.
“Our hearts are hurting, and we have considered what would be best for our students in the coming days,” the school system said.
Classes will still take place but mental health services are available to students.
“We understand if you feel it is more appropriate to keep your student at home. Please continue to keep these families in your thoughts and prayers.
Five teens identified among seven bodies found on Jesse McFadden’s property
Friday 5 May 2023 08:00 , Andrea Blanco
Authorities in Henryetta, a town 90 miles east of Oklahoma City, made the gruesome discovery on Monday morning after 39-year-old Jesse McFadden failed to show up in court to stand a jury trial on charges of soliciting sexual conduct with a minor and possession of child pornography.
On Wednesday evening, authorities confirmed that McFadden shot dead his wife Holly Guess, 35, and her children, Rylee Elizabeth Allen, 17, Michael James Mayo, 15, and Tiffany Dore Guess, 13. Ivy Webster, 14, and 15-year-old Brittany Brewer were also among the deceased.
McFadden then killed himself.
Brittany Brewer was set to participate in state pageant this summer
Friday 5 May 2023 09:00 , Andrea Blanco
An Amber alert was issued early on Monday after Ivy and Brittany failed to return to their homes on Sunday, as they had planned. The advisory was cancelled on Monday afternoon by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
The two teens were last seen at around 1.30am on Monday travelling with McFadden in a white Chevrolet pickup. McFadden, who was convicted of first-degree rape in 2003 and released in October 2020, was on the state’s sex offender registry
In an interview with told KOTV, Brittany’s father Nathan Brewer said she had visited McFadden’s home several times before, and that he was not aware he had been convicted of rape in the past.
“Brittany was an outgoing person. She was actually selected to be Miss Henryetta ... coming up in July for this Miss National Miss pageant in Tulsa. And now she ain’t gonna make it because she’s dead. She’s gone,” Mr Brewer said.
At a Monday night vigil, Mr Brewer told hundreds of people that the circumstances surrounding his daughter’s death “are just a parent’s worst nightmare, and I’m living it.” He said Brittany had aspired to be a teacher or a veterinarian.
Teen victims’ grandmother says their mother, also killed by McFadden, had a ‘big heart'
Friday 5 May 2023 10:00 , Andrea Blanco
Judy White-Allen, the grandmother of Holly Guess’ two oldest children Rylee and Michael said her family is still processing the devastating tragedy.
“My kids are hurting. My son lost his daughter and son,” Ms White-Allen told The Independent. “My other kids lost their niece and nephew. My grandkids lost their cousins. Rylee and Michael have [four] other siblings that will never know them.”
The grandmother also described her former daughter-in-law Guess as a “great mother” with a “big heart”.
Victims' families question release of Oklahoma sex offender
Friday 5 May 2023 11:00 , Andrea Blanco
Family members of the victims are asking why McFadden, sentenced to 20 years in 2003 for first-degree rape, was freed three years early, in part for good behavior, despite facing new charges that he used a contraband cell phone to trade nude photos with the young woman in 2016.
He was released in 2020 after 16 years and nine months, even though the charges could send him back to prison for many years if convicted.
“And they rushed him out of prison. How?” asked Janette Mayo. Her daughter, Holly Guess, 35, and her grandchildren, Rylee Elizabeth Allen, 17; Michael James Mayo, 15; and Tiffany Dore Guess, 13, were all shot to death.
“Oklahoma failed to protect families. And because of that my children -- my daughter and my grandchildren -- are all gone,” Mayo told The Associated Press. “I’ve lost my daughter and my grandchildren and I’m never going to get to see ’em, never going to get to hold them, and it’s killing me.”
Rape victim reveals how she tried to stop Oklahoma’s slumber party killer
Friday 5 May 2023 12:00 , Andrea Blanco
Three years before Jesse McFadden opened fire on his wife and five teenagers, Krystle Strong says she begged several Oklahoma state agencies to halt his early release for good behaviour. McFadden was convicted in 2003 for raping a then 16-year-old Strong, a crime that was supposed to land him in prison for at least 20 years.
So when Ms Strong found out that her attacker was set to be released three years before finishing his sentence in 2020 — despite being hit with fresh charges in 2017 after he was caught using a contraband cell phone to exchange nude photos with a minor —, she tried to warn authorities.
“I called the jail,” Ms Strong tells The Independent. “I believe I left a voicemail and tried to get transferred and I kept getting the runaround. I told them, ‘Look, I’ve called you guys over the years several times trying to get updates and I’ve seen that you guys are still going to let him out even after you found contraband child porn on his phone. If this doesn’t show that somebody isn’t rehabilitated, then I don’t know what else would.’”
The Independent has more:
Rape victim reveals how she tried to stop Oklahoma’s slumber party killer
Jesse McFadden texted victim’s mother posing as murdered teen
Friday 5 May 2023 12:31 , Rachel Sharp
Jesse McFadden is believed to have texted the mother of one of his victims posing as the murdered teenager, it has been revealed.
Ivy Webster’s mother told NewsNation that she got a final message from her daughter’s phone on Sunday morning but now thinks the message seems off.
“I got a message the next morning, Sunday morning that was her phone but I don’t believe it was from her anymore saying that they were going to McAlester and she would be home later,” she said.
Ivy’s father Justin said that they now think McFadden wrote the message and was pretending to be his daughter.
Holly Guess’ mother says she was ‘fooled’ by McFadden
Friday 5 May 2023 13:00 , Andrea Blanco
In a Facebook post, Guess’s mother Janette Mayo said that her daughter was married to McFadden. Authorities have not confirmed a cause of death for the seven victims, but Ms Mayo said they were shot at various locations across McFadden’s property.
“My daughter loved her children and yes she married the man who killed them but she was fooled by his charm,” Ms Mayo wrote. “ I hurt just like the other families but he took my world from me. My grandchildren and my daughter. I have a hole in my heart ...”
Ms Mayo described Ivy as a “sweet girl,” and noted she didn’t have the chance to meet Britanny.
“I really didn’t know Brittany but she must have been a sweet girl for my Tiffany to care for her.” the grieving grandmother wrote. “My prayers are there for both of the other families. I just ask that people remember my family as well, and that they had names too.”
Jesse McFadden texted 2017 soliciting victim before carrying out massacre
Friday 5 May 2023 14:00 , Andrea Blanco
The victim in McFadden’s pending case has since revealed that he reportedly texted her the night before authorities found the seven victims.
“I did exactly what I promised I would do when I got out,” the text, exclusively obtained by FOX 23, read. “I got a marketing job making great money and was being advanced been there 2 years now and made a great life like I promised I would do with you.”
“Now it’s all gone, I told you I wouldn’t go back ... This is all on you for continuing this,” another set of texts stated.
McFadden was convicted of rape in 2003, according to records from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, and was released in 2020. His pending trial stemmed from charges brought against him after he was accused of sexting a minor while in prison in 2017, according to FOX.
Jesse McFadden rape victim shares her outrage with The Independent
Friday 5 May 2023 14:41 , Megan Sheets
Two decades before carrying out a massacre at a slumber party in Oklahoma, Jesse McFadden was convicted and jailed for raping Krystle Strong when she was 16.
As details about the horror killings continue to emerge, Ms Strong spoke to The Independent about how she spent years trying to keep McFadden off the street.
Ms Strong questioned the reasoning behind McFadden’s 2020 release and how he was able to preserve his freedom while facing child pornography charges despite having previous convictions.
“My heart just goes out to the families, I can’t even begin to imagine, it’s so sad,” Ms Strong. “[They failed,] the whole system, the police, I’m pissed. The hardest thing is the fact that these babies lost their lives and they didn’t get a chance to live.”
Read more from Andrea Blanco:
Jesse McFadden raped me years before his Oklahoma massacre. My warnings were ignored
Exclusive: Jesse McFadden’s former cellmate reveals his obsession with sex
Friday 5 May 2023 15:15 , Megan Sheets
James Fleming, who claims to have been Jesse McFadden’s cellmate at Joseph Harp Correctional Center in 2015, has come forward with shocking details about McFadden’s disturbing behaviour in prison.
“He [was] a very sexual person, you know, like everything that he talked about was just always sexual,” Fleming, who was jailed at JHCC on drug charges, told The Independent in a phone interview.
“Every time we had a conversation, he would always try to lead it up to something sexual ... the way that he tried to push it on me was just very uncomfortable.”
Fleming’s disturbing allegations come as outrage continues to mount over McFadden’s early release from jail in 2020.
Read more from The Independent’s Andrea Blanco:
Jesse McFadden’s sex fixation alarmed his jail cellmate. Why was he released early?
Former cellmate tried to warn authorities about McFadden
Friday 5 May 2023 16:00 , Megan Sheets
McFadden’s former cellmate James Fleming told Andrea Blanco that he tried to warn Henryetta Police Department about McFadden back in February of this year. Screenshots of what appears to be a conversation between him and the department’s Facebook page show that Fleming described McFadden as a “predator with multiple offences.”
A spokesperson with Henryetta Police Department told The Independent that McFadden’s address was located in an unincorporated part of Okmulgee County, where his registration was up to date, and deferred to Okmulgee Police Department.
“Due to his home address. Henryetta Police Department would have no records kept of his registration,” Henryetta Police said in a statement.
After his release in October 2020, McFadden was arrested the next month and then released on a $25,000 bond pending trial, which was repeatedly delayed, partially due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Relatives of the victims have expressed disbelief after learning about McFadden’s early release, especially in light of the seriousness of the new charges against him.
Victims’ relatives create fundraisers to cover funerals as they reel from devastating tragedy
Friday 5 May 2023 16:40 , Andrea Blanco
Holly Guess’ sister Heather Pettigrew has started a GoFundMe account to cover funeral expenses.
“This is a huge tragedy not just for my family but all of our friends and the community,” Ms Pettigrew wrote in the description of the fundraiser. “So much was lost so quickly and any help is greatly appreciated.”
A GoFundMe page in memory of Brittany Brewer has also been set up.
“This is undoubtedly one of the most difficult times they will ever experience and they need to be focused on their healing instead of worrying about how they are going to pay for Brittany’s funeral,” a message alongside the fundraiser reads.
Jesse McFadden ‘staged’ crime scene
Friday 5 May 2023 17:10 , Megan Sheets
Jesse McFadden “staged” the scene where he killed six people before turning the gun on himself, authorities say.
The convicted sex offender went on a shooting spree at his property near Henryetta sometime before Monday, when the police discovered the bodies of his wife Holly McFadden, his step-children Rylee Allen, Michael Mayo, and Tiffany Guess; and teens Ivy Webster and Brittany Brewer.
Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice told reporters that the bodies of Ivy , Brittany, and Rylee were found around 150 yards apart from each other.
Chief Prentice told reporters that the crime scene had “appeared to be staged” and that the bodies of the victims had been moved after they were killed.
“There are questions that will never get answered because the only people who know are no longer here,” Chief Prentice said.
“We will continue to document everything that we have found and anything that we discover in follow-up interviews moving forward, and generate a report. We will submit that report to the district attorney’s office for her review as a formality, because there is no prosecution to be had here.”
But he said there appeared no doubt who had committed the shocking crime.
“I follow the evidence … and the evidence is that Jesse McFadden murdered six people and then killed himself,” he added.
Video reveals stomach-churning evidence in McFadden home
Friday 5 May 2023 18:24 , Megan Sheets
Local news station KFOR revealed on Wednesday that authorities left behind a trove of stomach-churning evidence at Jesse McFadden’s property after releasing the scene and reportedly claiming that part of the investigation was over.
While touring the residence with the owner’s authorisation, a crew of reporters found hand restraints, sex toys and drug paraphernalia that have since been seized by Okmulgee Police.
Watch the video here.
Signing off
01:21 , Josh Marcus
That’s the end of our live coverage of the crime scene in Oklahoma for today.
Thank you for reading, and stay tuned with The Independent for the latest crime news.
