"This never had to happen." McFadden's delayed trial before Henryetta killings prompts calls for reform

Oklahoma’s criminal justice system missed multiple chances to lock up a sex offender before he killed five children, his wife and himself in rural Henryetta, legal experts say.

Jesse McFadden was accused in 2017 of soliciting child porn from a teen girl while in prison. He then ignored orders not to contact her before trial.

Yet the case languished for six years. McFadden’s trial was finally set for May 1, the day authorities found his body and six others. 

Changes to Oklahoma law in 2018 were meant to protect the rights of victims while their cases work their way through court. But five years later, McFadden’s case has exposed how the state court system still failed to deliver justice to a young victim — and to act before six others were killed.

“If a person is in prison and gets another criminal charge, especially a sex offender that is in prison committing another sexual charge, then they should not be released to the community,” said Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, who has called for a total overhaul of Oklahoma’s criminal justice system. “We have to dig deep and look at this case.”

Police have said McFadden, 39, shot and killed his wife, Holly Guess, 35, her children, Rylee Allen, 17, Michael Mayo, 15, and Tiffany Guess, 13, and two of her children’s friends, Brittany Brewer, 15, and Ivy Webster, 14. McFadden died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Investigators do not know when the killings occurred but have said some of the teens were seen the night of April 29.

Watch: Father of Henryetta victim wants sex offender laws changed

The next day, McFadden sent a series of Facebook messages to the victim in his pending trial, which could send him back to prison for decades if convicted. The victim, who is now in her 20s, shared the messages with police, as well as Fox23 News in Tulsa.

“I told you I wouldn’t go back,” one message from McFadden said. “This is all on you for continuing this.”

The woman did not return messages to The Oklahoman to speak about her case. But she told Fox23 that McFadden should have faced trial while he was still in prison, which could have prevented his release. She said the justice system failed her.

“This is a huge failure on their part,” she said. “This is something they could have stopped. This never had to happen.”

"No case should languish for six years”

Police started investigating McFadden after the victim’s grandfather contacted the prison in 2016 and alleged that he had been contacting his teenage granddaughter. Prison officials also found a cellphone in McFadden’s possession.

He was charged in September 2017 with possessing child porn and using a phone to sexually solicit a child. He was released from prison in October 2020, without ever facing trial on the child porn charges.

After his release, he periodically contacted the victim on social media despite being ordered not to, Muskogee County District Attorney Larry Edwards said. His bond was never revoked.

Edwards said he did not learn about those contacts until he took over the case in June. He agreed it should have been resolved sooner.

“I’ll be the first to say no case should languish for six years,” he said. “No case.”

'She was my best friend': Henryetta teen missed the sleepover that ended with 7 dead

Marsy's Law built to keep proceedings “free from unreasonable delay"

Under Marsy’s Law, crime victims in Oklahoma have the right to proceedings “free from unreasonable delay.” The law, approved by voters in 2018, was meant to place victims’ rights on par with those afforded to defendants.

Victims must be notified of their rights. But courts are still adapting to Marsy’s Law, so it can create some confusion or pushback on the ground when victims assert those rights, said Matt Primm, a Tulsa attorney who has represented victims under the law.

“It’s having to break that ice and educate, not necessarily the court, but everybody involved, so that they understand what those rights are and what that means,” said Primm, a founding partner of Haven Law Group.

He said a victim may not want to assert their right to a speedy trial if it would hamper the prosecution.

What delayed McFadden's case?

But several lawyers who regularly try cases in state courts said the prosecution of McFadden stood out as uncommonly long. Court records show the case has been set for trial at least eight times since September 2019. But it never made it to the top of the trial priority list until May 1.

The delays were compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 death of McFadden’s original defense attorney.

Capacity, though, was the biggest issue in recent months and years. Muskogee County convenes a jury three times every year, with each term lasting a few weeks. That only leaves time for a handful of trials, Edwards said.

The court’s inability to try more cases points to a broader issue within the state courts system, said Brett Chapman, a Tulsa defense attorney who previously worked as a prosecutor.

“It’s not the victim’s fault that they cannot properly hold jury terms,” he said. “That’s on the state government.”

More: Families grieve, demand accountability after 7 found dead in Henryetta

Trial courts typically prioritize the cases of defendants who are in jail, because they are more likely to assert their own rights to a speedy trial. Cases against prisoners often aren’t prioritized in the same way, said Matthew Price, a public defender and former prosecutor in Muskogee County.

“Sometimes these things kind of languish a little bit when they’re in prison,” he said.

Court records show the state was moving toward trial in late 2019 during McFadden’s final year in prison. But that trial never occurred. Edwards, who was not working in the district attorney’s office at the time, said he didn’t know why.

“This case was too old,” Edwards said. “It was a very high priority case on Monday (May 1).”

More: Police confirm Jesse McFadden fatally shot six prior to killing himself

Edwards said he was making final preparations when the victim contacted him April 30 to share the messages McFadden had sent. He said he read the messages at about 10 p.m. that night. He said he believed McFadden was trying to cast blame on the victim for the pending trial.

“In hindsight, you read them and say, ‘Oh my God, you should have done something,’” Edwards said.

Prompting changes

Humphrey, the state representative, said the case exposes a complete breakdown in the court system that should prompt a review and changes in law. He is working with Rep. Scott Fetgatter, who represents the area where the killings occurred, to try to pass a bill in the final weeks of the legislative session. They hope to prevent prisoners from leaving state custody if they are facing pending charges.

“It’s sad that we have to do this,” Humphrey said. “Should we have to write a law? That’s where we are today. The system is failing.”

Reach reporter Molly Young at mollyyoung@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: McFadden's delayed trial before Henryetta killings prompts calls for reform