The Jesse McFadden case refers to the May 1, 2023, murder-suicide in Henryetta, Oklahoma, in which McFadden, a convicted rapist and registered sex offender, shot and killed his wife Holly Guess, her three children, and two of their teenage friends before killing himself. He was scheduled to stand trial on child pornography charges that same morning. The killings drew national attention less for their circumstances than for the question they forced: how a man with McFadden’s record was living unsupervised in a house full of children in the first place.
Who Jesse McFadden Was
On November 2, 2003, McFadden forced his way into a trailer home in Canadian Shores, north of McAlester, Oklahoma, and raped a 17-year-old girl named Krystle Strong. He shoved a sock in her mouth, tied her hands and feet to a bedpost, and held a knife to her throat. Two weeks later he pleaded no contest to first-degree rape and received a 20-year sentence, along with a concurrent eight-year sentence for grand larceny.
While in prison, McFadden was caught with contraband cell phones in 2013 and again in 2016. The phone found in July 2016 at Jess Dunn Correctional Center in Taft held sexually explicit photos and messages between McFadden and a 16-year-old girl. In September 2017, Muskogee County prosecutors charged him with soliciting sexual conduct with a minor by use of technology and possessing juvenile pornography, both felonies. Investigators recovered more than 200 letters and journal entries McFadden had written to the girl describing sexual acts he intended to perform on her.
How He Was Free
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections released McFadden on October 30, 2020, after about 16 years and nine months of the 20-year sentence. The pending child pornography charges did not stop the release. ODOC explained that McFadden was not paroled; his sentence was “considered served” once he reached 85 percent of the term, with accumulated credits for good behavior, work, education, and hygiene covering the remainder. As a Level 4 inmate, he had been earning roughly 44 to 45 days of credit per month. A brief demotion after the 2017 contraband incident did not durably slow him down; he was back at Level 4 within months.
Because the sentence was treated as fully served rather than commuted or paroled, McFadden walked out with no probation and no obligation to report to the Department of Corrections. His sole ongoing duty was lifetime sex offender registration, which he satisfied in Okmulgee County in May 2022. He was required to check in with the sheriff’s office every 90 days. An Okmulgee County sheriff’s investigator later compared the compliance check process to “playing darts,” citing a lack of resources.1KFOR. Video Shows Letters McFadden Wrote to Sexting Victim ODOC declined to explain why the open felony charges and prior contraband findings did not affect his credit calculations.2FOX23. FOX23 Questions Why Jesse McFadden Was Released From Prison Early Despite Pending Charges
On the day of release, McFadden was booked into the Muskogee County jail on the outstanding 2017 charges and then released on a $25,000 bond.3The Oklahoman. Henryetta Massacre: What To Know
How He Reached the Family
Holly Guess, a mother of three, had been corresponding with a different inmate through a pen pal program. According to Holly’s mother, Janette Mayo, McFadden stole pages from that inmate’s address book to get Holly’s contact information. He wrote to her presenting himself as sweet, innocent, and misunderstood. To sell the story, he paid a woman to impersonate his 2003 rape victim and tell Holly the assault had been a misunderstanding.4The Oklahoman. Jesse McFadden Criminal History
Holly and McFadden married in May 2022. Mayo said the family only learned of his real history a few months before the killings. She described him as controlling, keeping Holly and the children “basically under lock and key” and demanding to know their whereabouts at all times.
The Trial That Never Happened
Muskogee County case CF-2017-01028 sat on the docket for nearly six years. McFadden was bound over for trial on March 25, 2019, but the jury trial was set and stricken repeatedly. The Muskogee County district attorney attributed the delays to McFadden’s defense attorney dying, the original prosecutor leaving for another job, a replacement prosecutor breaking her foot on the day of a scheduled trial, and pandemic court closures.5News 9. District Attorney Explains Jesse McFadden’s Early Prison Release, Trial Delays The trial was finally set for May 1, 2023. He never appeared. Judge Bret Smith issued a bench warrant that morning, and days later, after McFadden’s death, the charges were dismissed.6Oklahoma District Court Records. Case CF-2017-01028, State v. Jesse Lee McFadden
The Victims
- Holly Guess (McFadden), 35, McFadden’s wife.
- Rylee Elizabeth Allen, 17, Holly’s oldest daughter.
- Michael James Mayo, 15, Holly’s son.
- Tiffany Dore Guess, 13, Holly’s youngest daughter.
- Ivy Webster, 14, a friend of the Guess children from Henryetta.
- Brittany Brewer, 15, a Henryetta Middle School student who had been selected as “Miss Henryetta” for an upcoming national pageant in Tulsa.7NPR. Oklahoma Teens McFadden Webster Brewer Henryetta
Brittany’s father, Nathan Brewer, told reporters he knew she planned to spend time at the McFadden home but did not know McFadden was a registered sex offender. Ivy had gone with the family to the McAlester area on Saturday, April 29, and was expected home by Sunday evening.
The Weekend of the Killings
Investigators later traced days of planning. On April 26, McFadden bought cables and locks at a Walmart, items investigators considered potential restraints. On April 28, a text sent from Holly’s phone to Tiffany and Rylee said McFadden would teach them about “sexual education.” Investigators found explicit videos of McFadden and Tiffany on his phone and concluded he had been grooming her and was preparing to target Rylee next.8News 9. Recordings Reveal New Details in Henryetta Murder-Suicide
On Saturday, April 29, McFadden took several of the teenagers to a Tulsa mall and arcade in the early afternoon and later visited an adult entertainment store in Muskogee. That day he also searched online for handcuffs and sex shop locations, according to an OSBI briefing later released by the Webster family. Ivy sent Snapchat messages at 6:25 p.m. and 8:23 p.m. from Henryetta. Her phone location was turned off by 10:04 p.m.9News 9. New Information on Henryetta Murders Released by Victim’s Family
Early Sunday, April 30, Brittany’s phone connected to the internet at a Henryetta Walmart at 2:46 a.m. while McFadden was driving with it; the device went off cell towers at 4:59 a.m. Later that day McFadden and Tiffany met with his defense attorney in Adair County. At 5:11 p.m. he called Ivy’s mother to reassure her the group was in McAlester. At 7:44 p.m. he texted his attorney: “So I decided to go ahead and just be what they wanted me to be. I did everything I was supposed to do, but it meant nothing, so I’ll just give them what they wanted.” Around the same time, using a social media profile called “Holly Days,” he contacted the original sexting victim from the 2017 case and blamed her for the pending prosecution, writing, “This is all on you for continuing this.”1KFOR. Video Shows Letters McFadden Wrote to Sexting Victim
Discovery and Cause of Death
On Monday morning, May 1, parents grew alarmed when the teenagers did not show up at their school bus stop. The Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office issued a missing and endangered alert for Ivy, followed by a state Endangered Missing Advisory naming both Ivy and Brittany and identifying McFadden as the person they were believed to be with.7NPR. Oklahoma Teens McFadden Webster Brewer Henryetta
Around 3:00 p.m., officers executed a search warrant at McFadden’s rental property on Holly Road on the outskirts of Henryetta. The front door was ajar. Seven bodies were spread across the property, including near a creek and in a wooded area. Ivy Webster and Brittany Brewer were found outside the house; the four other victims were inside. Law enforcement recovered a 9mm pistol, four spent casings, live ammunition, a broken cellphone, two computer towers, and two flash drives.3The Oklahoman. Henryetta Massacre: What To Know
The Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office found that all six victims died of gunshot wounds to the head, each sustaining between one and three shots. McFadden died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Autopsies of Ivy Webster and Brittany Brewer showed injuries consistent with sexual assault.10News 9. Medical Examiner Releases Henryetta Murder-Suicide Reports Toxicology on the victims was clean except for Holly, whose results showed phentermine and citalopram, both prescription medications.11KTUL. Medical Examiner Releases Autopsy Report for Henryetta Mass Murder Victim
Evidence Left at the Scene
The Okmulgee Police Department initially handled the case, but the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation took it over within days. The Webster family, having obtained the property owner’s permission, walked through the crime scene themselves and discovered items investigators had apparently left behind: cell phones, laptops, a signed check from Holly Guess, medication, bondage restraints, and drug paraphernalia.12KFOR. Victims Family Walks Through Killer’s Home, Finds Evidence Left Behind by Law Enforcement Through their attorney, Cameron Spradling, the family said they were alarmed that electronic devices containing possible recordings of sexual assaults had not been secured, fearing the material could have been distributed online.13Public Radio Tulsa. OSBI Takes Over Okmulgee County Case
What Investigators Later Confirmed
In April 2025, the Webster family publicly released audio of an April 2024 briefing with OSBI Agent Kevin Lanham. According to Lanham, investigators concluded McFadden had already begun sexually abusing 13-year-old Tiffany Guess based on explicit videos found on his phone, and he was preparing to target Rylee Allen next. The OSBI said its investigation remained ongoing and declined to comment on the recording; Okmulgee County District Attorney Carol Iski did not respond to media requests.8News 9. Recordings Reveal New Details in Henryetta Murder-Suicide
Knight’s Law and the Legislative Response
The victims’ families worked with State Representative Scott Fetgatter on House Bill 3992, called “Knight’s Law.” The bill would require anyone convicted of first-degree rape, child sexual abuse, child pornography, child prostitution, or human trafficking of a minor to serve their full sentence with no earned-credit reductions. It would make several of those offenses punishable by life without parole. It would also create a presumption against pretrial release for registered sex offenders arrested for new sex crimes.14KOKH FOX 25. Oklahoma Family Advocates for Stricter Sex Offender Laws
HB 3992 passed the Oklahoma House 84-8 and was sent to the Senate on March 12, 2024.15Oklahoma House of Representatives. Knight’s Law Legislation It was assigned to the Senate Judiciary and Appropriations committees. Its last recorded activity was May 9, 2024, and it did not become law during that session.16Oklahoma Legislature. HB 3992 Bill Information Ivy Webster’s father, Justin Webster, said the family felt “let down and failed” by the system.