Major Jon Kaylor is in custody in the City of Kellogg, Idaho, after the June 18, 2023, shooting deaths of his neighbors, including two teenagers and their mother.
Kaylor is accused of killing Kenneth Guardipee, 65; his daughter, Kenna Guardipee, 41; and her sons, Devin R. Smith, 18, and Aiken Smith, 16, according to The Spokesman-Review.
The shooting deaths occurred just days after Kaylor’s wife, in a now-deleted Facebook post, accused Devin Smith of exposing himself to the couple’s minor children. Kenna Guardipee was the mother of Devin Smith. Aiken was his brother.
The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Department wrote in a Facebook post, “On June 18th at approximately 7:30 p.m., the Kellogg Police Department and the SCSO responded to the City of Kellogg reference four people deceased from gunshot wounds.”
An official at the Shoshone County jail confirmed to Heavy on June 19, 2023, that Kaylor is in custody. Some sites have given Kaylor’s name as Majorjon Kaylor, the name he goes by on Facebook.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Major Jon Kaylor’s Wife Wrote a Lengthy Post Accusing Devin Smith of Exposing Himself to Their Kids & Shared a Graphic Showing a Man Shooting Another Person
BREAKING:
We have just received the probable cause affidavit in the Majorjon Kaylor case. Multiple tweets to follow.
-Police respond to the 500 block of Brown Ave in kellogg for reports of gunshots.
-Police find Kaylor sitting outside on Brown Ave.
@KHQLocalNews
The suspect’s wife, Kaylie Kaylor, posted a photo of her family on Facebook.
Many of her photos show the suspect with his kids. Five days before the homicides, she wrote a lengthy post sharing Devin Smith’s photo and accusing him of exposing himself to their juvenile girls.
“So we got new downstairs neighbors 2 weeks ago. They have two teenage boys, one just graduated and the other one does next year. We share a backyard, my kids stay on their side but they are out there a lot. They jump on the trampoline with the sprinkler. Almost every single time the older boy goes outside on his porch and seems to be watching them. I tried to brush it off since it’s their yard too but my momma gut couldn’t shake it,” she wrote.
The post says that the two girls were coloring with chalk in the in the backyard when one told her “the boy is in the window” exposing himself and masturbating.
“I make an effort to not look in their windows so the fact that he was standing right in front of it and my daughters saw everything is absolutely disgusting,” she wrote.
She said she ran to get the suspect. “I immediately ran to get Major who went down to go bang on the window, he was gone so Major went to the front door and had to knock several times before he got an answer,” she wrote. “I am freaking distraught. I’m already so uncomfortable living here and now this.”
The mother wrote that she “called the landlord to let him know in case they start trying to complain about us or if they want to try and start drama and get us kicked out so he knows why. I am livid. The police have been called! I don’t take stuff like this lightly, I just want to protect my children but people always act like you are being dramatic. This is the last thing I want to be dealing with in this market. Now my kids can’t play outside like they’ve been able to for years when there was just a sweet old lady living below us.”
Facebook (Kaylie Kaylor)Kaylie Kaylor Facebook post.
On June 13, the suspect’s wife shared a graphic on Facebook of a man shooting another person in the head with the phrase, “How to catch a predator.”
2. Major Jon Kaylor Is Accused of Telling Authorities He ‘Snapped’
According to the Spokesman-Review, Kaylor is accused of telling police he “snapped.” His wife’s claims have not yet been confirmed by police, the newspaper reported.
Katy James told Spokesman-Review that Devin Smith had a “learning disability and struggled socially,” but a classmate, Daisy Sawyer, told the newspaper Smith “harassed her at school and was known to be inappropriate.”
The Sheriff’s Department wrote that the suspect is in custody.
“The suspect has been detained and there is no threat to the community. This investigation is ongoing with KPD and ISP as the primary investigators. They will release more details as the investigation continues,” the release says.
On Father’s Day, Kaylor’s wife wrote on Facebook, “Happy Father’s Day to the best dad ever. I see you and all that you do for your kids and I. You work hard, stand your ground and don’t give up. You’re the exact person I want our kids looking up to. Our life together is the greatest and I’m so amazingly lucky to have someone like you as the father to my children. The kids and I love you! Can’t wait for you to get home from work♡”
3. Major Jon Kaylor Works as an Underground Miner
According to his Facebook page, Major Jon Kaylor works as an underground miner at Idaho Strategic Resources.
His page says he is a “former choker setter/riggin man at Parkin Forestry” and that he lives in Kellogg, Idaho, and is married to Kaylie Kaylor.
4. Devin Smith’s Mother Recently Posted a Graduation Photo on Facebook
On Facebook, Devin Smith shared a few graphics and wrote that he started attending Kellogg High School in 2019 and finished in 2023. “Ready for school to see everyone,” he wrote.
He only had three friends on the Facebook page.
His brother, Aiken Smith, only had pictures of the outdoors visible on his Facebook page. He only listed five Facebook friends. On a second Facebook page, Aiken Smith posted photos of young men in military uniforms.
On June 3, their mother, Kenna Guardipee posted a graduation photo with her sons on her Facebook page.
5. The Community Was Divided Over the Homicides
Some people defended the suspect on Facebook. “So sad he had no other choice to protect his family. Nothing was done when reported,” a woman wrote on the Sheriff’s Department’s comment thread.
However, another woman responded, “um he absolutely had other choices and one of those choices was to not k*ll innocent people, including a 16 year old. You can’t take out an entire family. Bro. Wtf is wrong with some of y’all?”
A woman wrote, “This is such a horrific event. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and the entire community of Kellogg.”
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