Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

As it happenedended

Oklahoma murders: Jesse McFadden allegedly texted victim’s mom posing as slain teen

Andrea Blanco,Io Dodds ,Rachel Sharp
Friday 05 May 2023 20:22 EDT
Seven bodies found in search for two missing Oklahoma teens, police say

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.

Mother of Oklahoma teen found dead opens up about heartbreak

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.”

Andrea Blanco4 May 2023 23:00

Why was Jesse McFadden free?

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.”

Andrea Blanco5 May 2023 00:00

‘The whole system failed’: Jesse McFadden’s rape victim speaks out

“[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

EXCLUSIVE: “[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’. Andrea Blanco writes

Andrea Blanco5 May 2023 01:00

Victims’ relatives create fundraisers to cover funerals as they reel from devastating tragedy

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.

Andrea Blanco5 May 2023 02:00

Jesse McFadden used 9 mm pistol to kill victims

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.

Andrea Blanco5 May 2023 03:00

A teenage sleepover, a convicted rapist and seven bodies: What we know about Oklahoma tragedy

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

A teenage sleepover turned to tragedy when seven bodies were found at a rural Oklahama property on the day that a convicted rapist was scheduled to appear in court. Josh Marcus and Rachel Sharp report

Andrea Blanco5 May 2023 04:00

Who is the convicted rapist at centre of discovery of seven bodies in Oklahoma?

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:

Andrea Blanco5 May 2023 05:00

School pays tribute to ‘several students’ killed

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.

Andrea Blanco5 May 2023 06:00

Five teens identified among seven bodies found on Jesse McFadden’s property

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.

Andrea Blanco5 May 2023 08:00

Brittany Brewer was set to participate in state pageant this summer

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 Brewer)

“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.

Andrea Blanco5 May 2023 09:00

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in