Brother Who Found Work Slaughtered Family in Montana Home

A mother who documented a life of beauty online became the last victim of her own brother before his torches consumed their Montana home. Megan Ghekiere, formerly known as Megan Ireland, built an internet following with 'The Ireland Adventure' blog starting in June 2010. She and her first husband, Brad, explored Yellowstone National Park and traveled across the United States while raising a family. They adopted a puppy before welcoming son Owen in 2013 and daughter Chloe in 2018. On November 5, 2013, she posted about being thankful for her brother Alan after he found work at a hospital in Washington state following unemployment two years prior. She wrote that his attitude had flipped around completely. Thirteen years later, the same man who she thanked for his recovery slaughtered her and six others inside their $900,000 Billings residence.

The massacre occurred on Sunday night during a weekly family dinner hosted by Barb Smith, 69, and Dana Smith, 72. Alan Smith, now 44, killed his sister Megan, the couple's parents, grandmother Evelyn Smith, 92, and four nieces or nephews after police confirmed seven people inside the five-bedroom house were dead. Gunfire erupted just after 6pm. He then turned the weapon on himself before setting the property ablaze. Brad Ireland is now seeking justice for his son Owen, 13, daughter Chloe, 7, stepchildren Charlotte and Landon Ghekiere, and their own wife Megan. Brad told the New York Post that warning signs existed long ago but nobody listened to them. Alan spent his days holed up alone in a room on a computer while living with his parents. Public records show the family has resided in Montana since 2020 after moving from Seattle. No one knew what happened inside those walls for 24 hours each day until that fatal evening. The tragedy ended four adult lives and four child lives in a single act of violence.

Authorities have not revealed an official reason for the incident or addressed rumors that Alan Smith detonated after being ordered to vacate his home. The details surrounding a mother's tragic blog are now part of this dark story. Megan's wholesome family-focused blog was last updated in October 2014 when she announced that she, her husband, Owen, and their dog had moved to Washington state so Brad could pursue a career in aviation. She started working in the memory care unit at a local retirement home. Owen had begun talking and transitioned from a crib to a 'big boy bed.' Megan also paid tribute to her 'one-in-a-million' mother, Barb, whom they were living only three hours away from.

'I am so lucky to have a mom like mine. She drives me crazy and there are moments that I just need to walk away, but I really don't know what I would do without her,' Megan wrote. 'She is my sounding board to everything, she really is my best friend, she is a fantastic grandmother to her.' Alan Smith, pictured with his mother Barb Smith and father Dana Smith at his sister's wedding in 2010, stood as the center of a family that seemed perfect until it was not. Megan launched a family-focused blog called the Ireland Adventure in 2020 after she and Brad moved to Montana together that September.

Megan admitted that she had 'underestimated' the depth of a parent's love for their child until becoming a mother herself. She said she hoped her next child would be a girl so she could have the same friendship and relationship with her own daughter as she enjoyed with her mom. The couple welcomed Chloe into their lives in late 2018, photos shared on social media revealed. But their life together ceased just months later. Brad filed for divorce in May 2019 according to court records reviewed by the Daily Mail. Their marriage was officially dissolved in January 2020. Megan moved back to Montana in spring that year, public records showed. It remains unclear when she first met her current husband Adam Ghekiere, but they tied the knot last year.

Megan's grieving widower has branded his wife and children's killer a 'monster.' Adam, a rescue firefighter, was working at an airshow on Sunday when he heard on the fire department communications system that the horrific incident was unfolding near his in-laws home in Billings. 'I tried calling the house and no one answered. I checked my kids' locations, both Landon and Charlotte, and no one answered,' he told the US Sun. 'By the time we got to the house, they wouldn't let us get any closer because it was still under an active shooter status. I feared the worst right then,' he added.

After the shooting, the house was set on fire, trapping the family inside as it burned to the ground. Police say Alan was spotted outside in the back of the burning house where he turned the gun on himself. Aerial photographs taken after the blaze was extinguished show that very little remains of the residence. Adam said that Alan likely did not expect Landon and Charlotte to be at the home, as the family typically held its weekly dinners on Fridays. Police said Adam's 12-year-old daughter Charlotte called 911 from inside the home as shots rang out. Interim Yellowstone County Sheriff Kent O'Donnell said gunshots were heard in the background of a 911 call and the house was set alight within three minutes. Family friend and Billings local Jennifer Mercer has hailed Charlotte a 'hero' over her final act of bravery. 'She tried to save her family,' Mercer told the Billings Gazette, through her tears.

And her mom and dad both agreed she lived by her favorite quote: 'I love you more.' Police were called to the Billings home at 6.01pm Sunday after receiving reports of shots being fired and a child unconscious, according to Yellowstone County dispatch audio. The dispatcher said they had a situation going on with shots being fired. There is also going to be an unconscious child inside of the home. The dispatcher could not confirm if the child had been shot or was still breathing, but doubled down on the report that they were unconscious. Megan and Brad had two children together, a son, Owen, and daughter, Chloe.

Owen Ireland, 13, and Chloe Ireland, seven, were killed by their uncle Adam Smith in the shooting on Sunday. A GoFundMe campaign sharing photographs of the decedents was created to cover funeral costs and establish a memorial fund in their honor. She told responding officers that a fire engine was staged in the area and that another engine had already been requested. When officers arrived on scene just 10 minutes later, they found the residence already fully engulfed in flames, Billings police said. They also heard gunfire coming from inside the home.

Police say Alan was spotted outside in the back of the burning house, before further gunshots erupted. He was taken to a nearby hospital with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and later died, authorities said. Responding firefighters were hampered by there not being any fire hydrants in the area, according to Billings Fire Department Chief Matt Hoppel. The delay and limited access presented significant challenges. Fire conditions continued to worsen, and the residence ultimately became heavily involved and was consumed by fire, he said. The events leading up to the shooting and how the house was set on fire remain under investigation by the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office and other agencies.