A convicted sex offender this week fatally shot his wife and her three children in their Oklahoma home -- as well as two teenage girls who there were for a sleepover -- before killing himself, police said Wednesday, accounting for the bodies' discovery days earlier.
Authorities found the bodies Monday at a property in Henryetta, a city about 90 miles from Oklahoma City, where 39-year-old registered sex offender Jesse L. McFadden lived with his wife, 35-year-old Holly McFadden, and her children, who were McFadden's stepchildren: Rylee Allen, 17; Michael Mayo, 15; and Tiffany Guess, 13.
The two other teen girls who were killed -- 14-year-old Ivy Webster and 16-year-old Brittany Brewer -- had been reported missing and in danger on Monday morning. The girls were Tiffany's friends and spent the night with her on Saturday, and they were reported missing when they didn't return home Sunday as planned, Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice said.
"I follow the evidence . . . and the evidence is that Jesse McFadden murdered six people and then killed himself," Prentice said during a news conference Wednesday. "I don't have any evidence to indicate what the actual motive was."
The bodies of Holly and two of her children -- Michael and Tiffany -- were found together outside on the property, which the McFaddens were renting, Prentice said. The bodies of Ivy, Brittany and Rylee were found separately, about 150 yards apart from each other, he added.
The scene "appeared to be staged," the chief said, adding he believes the victims' bodies were moved after they were killed.
"There are questions that will never get answered because the only people who know are no longer here," 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."
The firearm used in the killings was a handgun that Holly bought in 2022, Prentice said.
Holly's mother, Janette Mayo, told CNN affiliate KJRH in an on-air interview that her daughter was married to McFadden. She identified Holly and Holly's three children as four of the victims.
"She loved her children. She would do anything in the world for them," Mayo told KJRH, adding that all her grandchildren were actively involved in school.
Sex offender failed to show for trial
McFadden was set to stand trial in at 9 a.m. on Monday on charges of solicitation of a minor, but failed to show, according to court records. A bench warrant for failure to appear was issued, the records show, and authorities then discovered the bodies while executing a search warrant.
The court date stemmed from charges filed in 2017, when McFadden was accused of using a cell phone to exchange nude photos and videos with an underage girl while he was serving time for a 2003 rape conviction, according to CNN affiliate KOKI.
Mayo said McFadden was controlling of her daughter, who moved with McFadden to Henryetta from Westville, a town roughly 100 miles southwest.
"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," Mayo told the news station.
"How she met Jesse, I have no clue," she said.
Mayo first became aware of McFadden's criminal history a few months ago when Mayo's husband was "doing some research on one of his coworkers to find out what his charges were."
"We tried to confront Holly, but he fed her a ton of lies," Mayo told KJRH, adding that her son-in-law shouldn't have been let out of prison as he awaited trial.
Henryetta Public Schools said it is "grieving over the tragedy of the loss of several of our students," in a message on its website addressed to parents and guardians.
"Our hearts are hurting, and we have considered what would be best for our students in the coming days," the school system said.
During Wednesday's news conference, the police chief said Brittany and Ivy's parents are "devastated by the loss of their children."
Ivy's mother, Ashleigh Webster, told CNN they lived on the same block as McFadden and that their families had been friends since December 2020. She said she didn't know about McFadden's criminal history.
"All the kids spent time together. We never had any issues with the family. His wife seemed nice and would even drop off anything she baked," Webster said.
Webster said her daughter was at the home -- where Holly McFadden and her children lived -- to have a sleep over with Tiffany.
"Tiffany and Ivy were best friends," she said. "Tiffany was over at our house all the time. She was like another kid to us."
