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7 bodies are discovered at the home of a sex offender on his scheduled court date

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Seven people, five of them teenagers, were found dead at a home in rural eastern Oklahoma Monday. The community of Henryetta is trying to understand what happened. Elizabeth Caldwell from member station KWGS in Tulsa has more.

ELIZABETH CALDWELL, BYLINE: For people around Henryetta, it started with an Amber Alert. Two teenagers were missing in Okmulgee County and could be in danger. It got worse. Fourteen-year-old Ivy Webster and 16-year-old Brittany Brewer were found dead with five other people. Pastor Ryan Wells, who led a prayer vigil at Henryetta High School in the wake of the deaths, said the loss is unimaginable.

RYAN WELLS: It would be a tragedy. It was - it is a tragedy with one individual, but it is catastrophic when you have seven individuals - five - from what I understand, five students that are just from this school.

CALDWELL: Included in the Amber Alert were details about a 39-year-old man named Jesse McFadden. He was about to stand trial on child pornography charges. McFadden's body was also found on the property. A woman told the Associated Press her 35-year-old daughter, Holly Guess, was among the dead and so were her three grandchildren, 17-year-old Rylee, 15-year-old Michael and 13-year-old Tiffany. Records show Guess and McFadden had applied for a marriage license last year. Wells said the community is waiting for answers.

WELLS: You know, I think everything is just so raw at the moment and really, I think, still gathering information. There's still a lot to be uncovered, it sounds like.

CALDWELL: The Okmulgee sheriff's office was the first on the scene, but the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has stepped in too. McFadden was released from prison in 2020 after serving more than 15 years for rape. Gerald Davidson with the OSBI said he has no information on why a registered sex offender under suspicion for child pornography would be around minors.

GERALD DAVIDSON: OK, I cannot answer that question. I don't know anything about what you were just speaking of and, of course, that's - that would probably be the district attorney or someone else to answer that particular question, not me.

CALDWELL: The Okmulgee County district attorney didn't return a request for more information. Davidson said law enforcement is still piecing together exactly what happened.

DAVIDSON: Well, the next step is it's an ongoing investigation

CALDWELL: To cope with the tragedy and to deal with the details still to come, students at Henryetta High School will be able to seek counseling on campus. Officials say the medical examiner's report is expected soon and should have more information about just how the seven people died.

For NPR News, I'm Elizabeth Caldwell in Henryetta, Okla. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Elizabeth Caldwell

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.