May 4 (UPI) — Authorities said a registered sex offender likely killed himself and six others at a property in Oklahoma on Monday.
Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice said Wednesday that Jesse McFadden, 39, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after killing his wife and five teenagers at a ranch in the town of Henryetta, Okla., but did not provide any speculation on a motive for the crime.
“The evidence is that Jesse McFadden murdered six people and then killed himself,” Prentice said. “Beyond that, I don’t know what his thought process was. Whether he planned this — and if he did, how long — I don’t have any evidence to base an opinion one way or another on that.”
The other six victims were identified as McFadden’s wife, Holly McFadden, 35; Michael Mayo, 15; Tiffany Guess, 13 and Rylee Allen, 17, as well as missing teens Ivy Webster, 14, and Brittany Brewer, 15.
Webster was believed to be staying with McFadden, who was expected with other family members to head to McAlester to work at a ranch. Concerns were raised when the Webster did not return home on Sunday, prompting the alert and search.
Prentice, the spokesman for a violent crime task force overseeing the investigation, said the initial probe suggests that McFadden shot all six in the head before turning the gun on himself. He said the bodies were separated into two groups on the large property, suggesting the scene was staged.
Prentice said the teenagers had gathered at the property for a sleepover. Police said a 9-millimeter handgun, purchased by Guess McFadden in January 2022, was used in the shooting deaths.
McFadden had been convicted of first-degree rape in 2003 and was released from prison in October 2020. He was expected to appear in court on the day of the murders on child pornography charges.