An Oklahoma rapist used his wife’s handgun to murder her, three children and two teens before he staged the bodies at a rural property.
The bodies were found at the rented property in Henryetta, Oklahoma, where Jesse McFadden, a 39-year-old convicted sex offender, lived with his family.
Authorities say that it was there that he fatally shot his wife, 35-year-old Holly McFadden, and his step-children: Rylee Allen, 17; Michael Mayo, 15; and Tiffany Guess, 13.
He also murdered Ivy Webster, 14, and Brittany Brewer, 16, who were friends of Tiffany’s and had spent the night with her last weekend.
The alarm was first raised when the two teenagers failed to return home as planned on Sunday, according to officials.
Police say that the bodies of Holly, Michael and Tiffany were found together outside the property by officers.
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.
The police chief stated that the firearm used in the murders was a handgun that Holly McFadden had bought in 2022.
Jesse McFadden had been set to go on trial on Monday on charges of solicitation of a minor, and when he failed to appear a bench warrant was issued.
It was while officials were executing that warrant at the family property that the bodies were discovered.
McFadden’s trial stemmed from 2017 charges in which he was accused of using a cell phone to allegedly exchange nude photos and videos with an underage female.
This took place while he was already serving a prison sentence for a 2003 rape conviction, reported KOKI. He was eventually released from prison in 2020.
Ivy’s mother, Ashleigh Webster, told CNN that they had been friends with the McFadden family since December 2020 and lived on the same block as them. She said she was unaware of Jesse McFadden’s criminal history.