Idaho man charged with four counts of murder in shooting deaths of neighbours

A man has appeared in court for the first time on four murder charges as he’s accused of shooting and killing a family with whom he shared a duplex in Kellogg, Idaho.

Majorjon Kaylor, 31, appeared in Shoshone County Magistrate court in an orange jumpsuit on Tuesday morning, according to The Spokesman-Review.

Mr Kaylor is facing allegations that he killed Kenneth and Kenna Guardipee, in addition to Devin Smith and a teenage boy who in the courtroom was referred to as AS.

The family lived below the suspect and his family in a duplex at 515 W Brown Ave in Kellogg.

Police arrived at the house after reports of a shooting at around 7.20pm on Sunday. Police found the family killed by gunfire in the home.

Mr Kaylor has also been charged with burglary for entering the home. He acknowledged the five charges as they were read out by Shoshone County Municipal Court Judge Keisha Oxendine, responding “Yes”.

Prosecutor Benjamin Allen said that the suspect confessed to the allegations when he was questioned by police.

“Admissions were ultimately made to the offences charged,” Mr Allen said.

The prosecutor said that a witness saw Mr Kaylor shoot and kill at least two of the four members of the family.

Mr Allen said the killings were done in a “horrific manner” but the prosecutor declined to go into further detail.

He added that Mr Kaylor has a “sparse and sporadic criminal history,” including a number of misdemeanour driving violations and a drug possession charge.

The prosecutor said that Mr Kaylor works at a mine in the area and that he’s married, Mr Allen added.

According to Mr Kaylor’s public defender, he has spent his entire life in Shoshone County and his criminal history doesn’t include previous violent offences.

The judge remanded the suspect into custody without bail. After the hearing, Mr Kaylor was taken across the street by deputies to Shoshone County Jail.

According to The Spokesman-Review, Mr Kaylor has the word “savage” tattoed above one of his eyebrows. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for 3 July at 1.30pm.

Following the shooting, Idaho State Police Lt Paul Berger told the paper that “This is a tragic situation that will affect the Kellogg community,” before adding that “Detectives continue working to establish a timeline and what led to the shooting”.

Mary Jane McShane, 80, was in her backyard in the area when the shooting took place on Sunday evening. She told the paper that she didn’t hear anything. She added that she didn’t know anything had happened until she got a call from her brother asking her if she was okay.

“It’s normally very calm, very quiet,” the retired nurse told the paper. “It’s shocking and sad.”

Describing the town of Kellogg as small and close-knit, she said that she “never expected something like this to happen”.

Ms McShane spends part of the year abroad, telling the paper that she has always been concerned about the gun culture in the northern parts of the state. She’s now concerned that her Irish friends will hesitate to come visit because of the shootings.