State bureau of investigation takes control of investigation into Henryetta slayings

Jack Money and Nolan Clay, Oklahoman
·3 min read

HENRYETTA — The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has taken control of a crime scene where seven people were found shot dead last week at a property in Okmulgee County.

The OSBI took the lead at Okmulgee County District Attorney Carol Iski's request Friday after the father of one victim expressed frustrations with how potential evidence had been left unsecured at the property, she said Monday.

An agency spokesman also confirmed its investigators stepped into leading the investigation on Friday.

"The OSBI is now the lead agency in the case, and the investigation is ongoing," OSBI interim public information officer Gerald Davidson said Monday.

More: A week after killings in Henryetta, sorrow, shock and calls for change remain

A Henryetta police car is pictured Wednesday.
A Henryetta police car is pictured Wednesday.

Local investigators looking for Ivy Webster, 14, and Brittany Brewer, 15, discovered both girls dead, along with five others including Jesse McFadden, 39, the man they were thought to be with, on May 1.

Other victims found at the location included McFadden's wife, Holly Guess, 35, and her children, Rylee Elizabeth Allen, 17; Michael James Mayo, 15; and Tiffany Dore Guess, 13. Authorities said McFadden shot the victims in the head, some multiple times, before turning the gun on himself.

A warrant for McFadden's arrest had been issued the same day after he had failed to appear for a trial in Muskogee County, where he faced one count of soliciting sexual conduct with a minor by use of technology and one count of possession of child pornography.

He was accused of committing those crimes while serving a 20-year sentence for a first-degree rape conviction in 2003. He was released from prison in October 2020.

'This never had to happen.' McFadden's delayed trial before Henryetta killings prompts calls for reform

Jesse McFadden
Jesse McFadden

"I share in Oklahomans’ pain by the tragedy and senseless act of violence that ended several young lives in Okmulgee County," said Gov. Kevin Stitt. "I have concerns with what appears to be short comings in our justice system, and have asked for my Secretary of Public Safety to remain engaged as information continues to develop.

"Sarah and I are praying for the victims’ families and loved ones during this unimaginably difficult time."

OSBI provides no details about ongoing Henryetta investigation

Iski told The Oklahoman that OSBI investigators had been at the scene since the bodies initially were discovered on May 1.

When asked for specifics about the OSBI's activities at the crime scene Monday, Davidson only could say the investigation remains ongoing.

The Webster family told their attorney, Cameron Spradling, a pond on the property that may have recently been disturbed with nearby heavy equipment appeared to have caught investigators' interest.

'She was my best friend.' Henryetta teen missed the sleepover that ended with 7 dead

The property where seven bodies were discovered May 1 is pictured in Henryetta.
The property where seven bodies were discovered May 1 is pictured in Henryetta.

Spradling said the Websters began pushing for OSBI to take the lead after they saw cellphones and computers inside of the house after local investigators had released it to the landowner and to victims' relatives.

Spradling said sheriff's deputies did collect iPads and a cellphone Thursday morning after the family complained. However, the grandmother, Shannon Boykin, took cellphone videos inside McFadden's house Thursday afternoon that showed some computer equipment still there.

More cellphones were found Friday.

Seven bodies were discovered May 1 on this Henryetta property.
Seven bodies were discovered May 1 on this Henryetta property.

The videos also showed handcuffs, bondage collars and lube in a laundry room, books on witchcraft and sex toys in a master bedroom and a chain hooked to the wall behind the bed.

Videos of the kitchen showed a chain hooked to a counter.

More: A mass murder-suicide thrust Henryetta into the national spotlight. The town is struggling to cope

"The family of Ivy Webster were shocked to discover that computers and cellphones had not been secured by law enforcement," Spradling said.

"No words can express this family’s fear that the sexual assault of their baby girl has been placed on the dark web. We demand that law enforcement seize all electronic devices within this house of horrors and hunt down all sexual predators who have witnessed the suffering of little Ivy Webster."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OSBI takes control of Henryetta killings investigation