Montana Family Massacre: Gunman Pictured for First Time as Slain Sister’s Best Friend Reveals Troubling Behavior Before Eight Were Killed

Gunman Alan Smith (far left) pictured with Megan Ghekiere, Dana Smith, Barbara Smith, and Evelyn Smith.Family handout

New details are emerging about the Montana family massacre that claimed eight lives across four generations, with the suspected gunman now pictured publicly and a close friend of his sister describing behavior she says had caused concern before the tragedy.

Alan Smith, 44, killed eight relatives at a family home outside Billings on Sunday, Aug. 23, according to authorities. The victims included his sister, Megan Ireland-Ghekiere, 39; her children Owen Ireland, 13, and Chloe Ireland, 7; her stepchildren Landon Ghekiere, 15, and Charlotte Ghekiere, 12; Smith’s parents, Dana Smith, 73, and Barbara Smith, 72; and his 92-year-old grandmother, Evelyn Smith. Authorities said Smith later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Investigators are continuing to search through what remains of the fire-damaged home, and officials have not announced an official motive. Yellowstone County Sheriff Kent O’Donnell has cautioned that some questions surrounding the killings may never be answered.

Megan’s best friend describes behavior that concerned her

Kelsey Granger, 36, had known Megan since childhood and served as maid of honor at both of her weddings. Speaking after the killings, she described herself and Megan as extremely close, even sharing matching butterfly tattoos.

Granger said she had known Alan Smith for years and alleged that he had sometimes been verbally abusive toward Megan and her children.

“I know he was verbally abusive towards Megan occasionally as well as her children,” Granger said, adding that he had not been kind to the children around the time he left the family home.

Her account adds to other descriptions of Smith’s behavior before the killings. Brad Ireland, Megan’s former husband and the father of Owen and Chloe, separately described Smith as reclusive and said there had been “many red flags.” Ireland said Smith spent much of his time alone in his room on his computer and struggled to find or maintain employment.

However, there is an important distinction between those retrospective concerns and what authorities knew before the attack. Sheriff O’Donnell said law enforcement had no previous contact with Smith and had not previously been called to the family’s home. A search of criminal records in Montana and Washington also found no record of Smith having been arrested or charged with a crime.

Smith had left the family home weeks earlier

Megan Ghekiere (left) and her friend Kelsey Granger (right) are seen in an undated photo.Courtesy of Kelsey Granger

Accounts differ slightly over the circumstances surrounding Smith’s departure from the home.

Granger said Megan had spoken to her about the situation around mid-July and that Smith left approximately the following week without telling relatives where he was going. According to Granger, he had no job or known source of income at the time.

Granger said she understood that Smith left voluntarily and that Megan’s parents did not believe he was violent.

Other relatives have described the departure differently. Brad Ireland told the Associated Press that Smith’s parents had asked him to move out several weeks before the killings.

What is clear is that Smith was no longer living at the residence when, according to investigators and family accounts, he returned on the evening of Aug. 23.

The house was a familiar gathering place for the family, where relatives regularly came together for meals. Granger recalled spending Friday dinners there and watching Megan’s children ride their bicycles in the driveway.

A final message just hours before the killings

Megan Ghekiere and her friend Kelsey Granger have matching butterfly tattoos.Courtesy of Kelsey Granger

Only hours before the tragedy unfolded, there was apparently nothing in Megan’s conversation with her best friend to suggest what was coming.

Granger said Megan sent her a video around noon that Sunday. They were discussing plans to see The Nutcracker around Christmas.

Approximately six hours later, authorities say Smith arrived at the house.

According to Sheriff O’Donnell’s timeline, Smith arrived in the neighborhood at approximately 5:49 p.m. Shortly after 6 p.m., a female inside the home contacted 911. O’Donnell did not publicly identify the caller, but family friend Jennifer Mercer has said it was 12-year-old Charlotte Ghekiere.

Mercer has described Charlotte as a “hero,” saying the girl called 911 and attempted to save her family.

When the first officers reached the property, they confronted Smith, who retreated into the house. Officers subsequently heard gunfire and saw smoke coming from the residence, authorities said. Smith later went into the backyard and shot himself. He died after being taken to a hospital.

Multiple fires had been started inside the house, according to investigators. Firefighters could not immediately move in while the scene remained unsafe, allowing the blaze to spread and eventually devastate the property.

Husband learned something was terribly wrong while at work

Megan’s husband, Adam Ghekiere, was not at the home when the attack occurred.

Adam, who works at the airport in Billings, has said he heard information about an active shooting over a dispatch radio. Unable to reach his family by phone, he rushed across town toward the house. By the time he arrived, it was engulfed in flames.

Granger recalled receiving a call from Adam that night. He told her the house was burning and that family members were believed to be inside, but he did not yet know whether anyone had survived.

Granger immediately tried Megan.

There was no answer.

She then tried Megan’s mother and again reached voicemail. Hours later, Granger learned that her best friend and the other family members inside were gone.

Four generations lost in one night

The scale of the loss extended across four generations of the family.

Dana and Barbara Smith owned the home where the killings occurred. Dana was retired from the Air Force and Boeing, while Barbara was a retired teacher. Evelyn Smith, the 92-year-old family matriarch, lived at a nearby retirement community and used a wheelchair.

Megan worked in healthcare and was raising a blended family with Adam. Owen and Chloe were her children from her previous marriage to Brad Ireland, while Landon and Charlotte were Adam’s children.

Friends and relatives have emphasized how close the children were despite coming from a blended family. Mercer described the household as loving and close-knit.

The family also had longstanding ties to the Seattle area. Dana and Barbara had lived for decades in Normandy Park, Washington, before relocating to Montana.

Remembering Megan beyond the tragedy

Megan and her kids, Chloe and Owen, were all killed in the massacre.Courtesy of Littles + Bigs Photography

For Granger, the circumstances of Megan’s death are only part of the story she wants people to remember.

The two women had known each other since Megan was young. They remained in frequent contact, visited one another several times a year and shared major milestones in their lives. Their children were born only weeks apart.

Granger said Megan loved butterflies, which inspired the matching tattoos they carried — each woman having part of a butterfly.

She described Megan as someone she could turn to with problems, comparing her to both a therapist and an older sister. She also remembered Megan as a devoted mother who had spent much of her parenting life raising Owen and Chloe as a single mother before remarrying.

Her last in-person memories of Megan came from May, when they joined friends for a girls’ weekend at Hot Springs.

Now Granger says she wants the focus to remain not only on how Megan died, but on the person she was: a strong mother and a kind person who built a life for her family.

Investigators still searching for answers

Authorities continue to examine the burned remains of the Billings-area home for evidence that could explain the sequence of events and, potentially, Smith’s motive.

The extensive fire damage has complicated that work. Investigators have been painstakingly searching through the debris while attempting to reconstruct what happened inside the residence.

Despite the accounts of troubling behavior from people who knew Smith, authorities have not established a motive for why he targeted his relatives.

“There’s many questions that will come from this investigation,” Sheriff O’Donnell said, acknowledging that because many of the people who could provide answers are dead, some aspects of the case may remain unresolved.

In the aftermath, friends and community members have organized fundraising and other support efforts for surviving relatives. For those closest to Megan, however, the devastation remains intensely personal: a routine Sunday family gathering, preceded just hours earlier by ordinary conversations and plans for Christmas, became the final chapter for four generations of one family.