Murder In America
EP. 199: IDAHO - The Man Who Killed His Neighbor's Family: The Majorjon Kaylor Murders
Fri, 25 Apr 2025
In June of 2023, a brutal quadruple homicide rocked a town in Idaho that sent shockwaves rippling across the nation. On that day, a man named Majorjon Kaylor entered a duplex home in his community, and brutally executed the members of a family, one by one, in cold blood. But the story, told in whole, reveals a disturbing motive for the killings, and tells a larger, darker story when looked at as a whole. - Listen to our new show, "THE CONSPIRACY FILES"!: -Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5IY9nWD2MYDzlSYP48nRPl -Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-conspiracy-files/id1752719844 -Amazon/Audible - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ab1ade99-740c-46ae-8028-b2cf41eabf58/the-conspiracy-files -Pandora - https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-conspiracy-files/PC:1001089101 -iHeart - https://iheart.com/podcast/186907423/ -PocketCast - https://pca.st/dpdyrcca -CastBox - https://castbox.fm/channel/id6193084?country=us - Stay Connected: Join the Murder in America fam in our free Facebook Community for a behind-the-scenes look, more insights and current events in the true crime world: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4365229996855701 If you want even more Murder in America bonus content, including ad-free episodes, come join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/murderinamerica Instagram: http://instagram.com/murderinamerica/ Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/people/Murder-in-America-Podcast/100086268848682/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MurderInAmerica TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theparanormalfiles and https://www.tiktok.com/@courtneybrowen Feeling spooky? Follow Colin as he travels state to state (and even country to country!) investigating claims of extreme paranormal activity and visiting famous haunted locations on The Paranormal Files Official Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheParanormalFilesOfficialChannel - (c) BLOOD IN THE SINK PRODUCTIONS 2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What warnings should listeners be aware of before starting the episode?
Warning, the following podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects.
Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children.
This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned.
Imagine this, you and your family are looking for a place to live. You spend hours on the internet looking up all of the available homes in your area. After some searching, you finally find a few that meet your standards. So over the next few weeks, you take time out of your busy schedule to tour these homes. And finally, you come across the perfect one.
As soon as you step inside, you know that it's the house where you will raise your kids, where you will create memories for the years to come. And luckily for you, after applying to live there, you get accepted. When moving day finally comes around, you couldn't be happier. And for the first few years, everything is going great. That is until a new family moves in next door.
At the end of the day, you may be able to find the perfect house, but it's the people living around you that can completely change everything. Maybe the neighbor across the street plays loud music at all hours of the night. The neighbors to your left fight all the time. The man down the street will come knocking on your door if your grass is half an inch too high.
Or maybe, like in our story for today, the 18 year old boy living downstairs exposes his penis to your two young children. Scenarios like that can make your perfect home feel like a house of horrors. And sometimes, neighborhood disputes can end in bloodshed, sending shockwaves through your tight-knit community. So this is the story of Major John Kaler. I'm Courtney Browen.
And I'm Colin Browen.
Thank you.
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Chapter 2: Who was Majorjon Kaylor and what was his background?
In the early 20th century, the town was a booming mining hub, centered around the Bunker Hill Mine, which was, at the time, one of the world's leading producers of lead. At its peak, the town catered to over 6,000 residents. However, after the Bunker Hill Mine closure in 1981, the town was deserted.
Thousands of people were out of work, and the threat of lead contamination made it a super fun site. Businesses closed and people left, leaving behind a shell of a once prosperous town. Today, Kellogg is home to over 2,000 residents and has reinvented itself as a resort town with the development of new restaurants, hotels, condos, shops, a water park, and a golf course.
Each year, thousands of tourists flocked to the Silver Mountain Resort, a popular skiing and snowboarding destination, accessible by the world's longest single-cabin gondola from the city of Kellogg to the lodge on Kellogg Mountain.
But on June 18, 2023, the quiet city would become known for something else, when it was thrust into the spotlight by a shocking crime where four people would lose their lives.
Major John Allen Kaler, born around 1991, was born and raised in Kellogg, Idaho. Court documents indicated that his childhood was plagued by abuse, poverty, and instability. But specific details are not available. Now in 2007, when Major John was around 16 years old, he was charged with battery. He also had misdemeanor driving violations and one charge of drug possession.
But once he reached adulthood, everything seemed to change. Major John vowed to live differently than how he was raised. He wanted his family to have stability, which meant he had to work hard and keep a steady job, which he did. And Major John was proud of himself. With the way he grew up, things could have gone a lot differently.
He himself watched kids with similar upbringings, lives of crime and drug addiction. But not him. He was taking control of his life. Now, Major John ended up marrying his high school sweetheart, Kaylee. The two had been together since they were 14 years old. And by 2023, they had three children, two daughters and one son.
Major John was the type of guy who liked to work with his hands. In the years prior, according to his Facebook, John worked as a choker-setter-rigging man at Park & Forestry, which is essentially someone who fastens steel cables around logs to prepare them for hauling. But in 2023, he was working as an underground miner at Idaho Strategic Resources.
So, by all accounts, Major John was a hands-on in all of his careers, working physically demanding jobs that reflected his blue-collar lifestyle. And luckily, his job allowed his wife Kaylee to stay home with their three children. At the time of our story, all was well with the Kaler family. They were happy, healthy, they had stability, and they lived in a good home at 515B Brown Avenue.
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Chapter 3: What was the living situation and relationship between the Kaler and Gardapie families?
So, soon after this happened, Kaylee Kaler decided to post about it on Facebook. The post read as follows.
So we got new neighbors downstairs two 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're 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... He seems to be watching them.
I tried to brush it off since it's their yard too, but my mama gut couldn't shake it. I was outside with Redacted and Redacted, coloring with chalk in our backyard tonight, when Redacted says, "'Mom, the boy's in the window,' and she seems shocked. I say, "'Yes, it's their house. It's fine.'" And she goes, no, mom, the boy. He's shaking his penis.
This dude was staring out the window directly at my girls and I, beating his dick off. I saw his naked body jump up on the bunk bed and scoot back. I made an effort to not look in their windows. So the fact that he was standing right there in front of it and my daughter saw everything is absolutely disgusting.
Especially because she was on the opposite side of our climbing dome, as far away in the yard as she could be on our side. Not even close to his window. Why were you staring in their direction? I immediately ran to get Major, who went down to go bang on the window, but he was gone. So Major went to the front door and had knocked several times before he got an answer. I am freaking distraught.
I called the landlord to let him know in case they start 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.
And apparently, Devin Smith had a sordid history of being inappropriate, at least according to some residents in Kellogg. After Kaylee posted her story, one resident chimed in and responded with this.
I went to school with him from kindergarten all the way up to my sophomore year. He is a creep and will not stop. He's been doing this kind of shit for a long ass time now. The police department needs to lock his ass up for life. He is disgusting.
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Chapter 4: What inappropriate behavior did Devin Smith exhibit and how did the community respond?
But after she sent in her application, there was just little that they could do.
But according to the people of Kellogg, Devin Smith had a history of this kind of behavior. Another student who went to school with Devin named Daisy Sawyer also told the local newspaper that Devin quote, harassed her at school and was known to be inappropriate. So when word started spreading about him exposing himself to these young girls, it didn't seem like anyone was surprised.
Then, as if the Kaler family couldn't be more upset, after sharing their stories, they were met with all of these people who had similar disturbing stories of their downstairs neighbor. The Kalers were beginning to realize that this likely wasn't a one-time thing. Their downstairs neighbor was allegedly a serial offender.
And by looking at their Facebook accounts, it's clear that this incident was really affecting them. Major John and Kaylee even shared a meme over Facebook that referred to the infamous story of Leon Gary Plouchet. The meme referenced a well-known case where Gary's 10-year-old son, Jody, was kidnapped and molested by his karate coach, Jeff Doucet, in 1984.
Jeff had taken Jody to Disneyland, where he repeatedly sodomized the young boy. Now, eventually, Jeff's crimes were exposed to the world, and he was soon arrested. However, unbeknownst to everyone, as Jeff was being extradited back to Louisiana, Jody's father was hiding near a payphone at the airport. After he found out what happened to his son, he wanted to take revenge.
So, Gary hid that day near the payphone at the airport, waiting for his son's abuser to walk by. Now, he actually was on the phone at the time with his best friend Jimmy. And during that phone call, he sees Jeff walking in his direction, with the police and camera crews from the local news station by his side. And at that moment, Gary whispered to his friend on the phone, Here he comes.
You're about to hear a shot. And just as Jeff walked by, news cameras rolling, Gary reached into his right boot, spun around, and quickly fired one bullet from his .38 snub-nosed revolver into Jeff's head. Here's the audio from that shooting.
Doucette, a karate instructor, had abducted 11-year-old Jody Ploschet several weeks earlier and taken him to California. When Jody was rescued and returned to his family, his father, Gary, was coping with reports that Doucette had sexually assaulted his son. We didn't know what to do. You just feel helpless.
Ten days later, when the police flew Doucette back to face trial, Gary Ploschet was waiting with a gun.
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Chapter 5: How did law enforcement handle the reports against Devin Smith?
She had no idea that he was going to murder him and his entire family.
As officers looked around the property, they were met with a horrific scene. Outside the ground floor apartment, in the backyard, Kenneth and Kenna Guardipi lay dead. Kenna was located face up near the exterior concrete steps to apartment A. Near her body was the body of her father, Kenneth. His body was located partially on the concrete steps and partially in a garden next to the steps.
Around their bodies, police located several .45 caliber shell casings. From here, the officers went into the apartment. 16-year-old Akin Smith was located between the living room and kitchen on his stomach. Only one .45 caliber bullet casing was found near his body. Then they found 18-year-old Devin Smith.
As soon as they stepped foot in his bedroom, they knew that he was the intended target that evening. He was found on his knees face down with his head riddled with bullets. Several .45 caliber casings were found around his body. This was overkill. and all four victims had been murdered execution-style.
Now, later that night, investigators were able to get a search warrant for Major John's black 2022 Dodge Ram, and inside of it, on the driver's seat, they found his belt, holster, and semi-automatic pistol. It was later discovered that there was blood and tissue on the gun, which proved Major John had shot his victims at close range. Inside the gun, they found one bullet in the chamber.
And nearby, underneath the driver's seat, they found an empty magazine, which meant that Major John had reloaded his gun during the shooting.
Now, following his arrest, Major John was actually taken to a nearby church for further questioning. And while there, he would speak to Detective Justin Klitsch and Captain Jeff Lee. But surprisingly, Major John's main concern at the time was actually about his broken shoulder. He kept complaining to the officers about how badly it hurt and how he was tired and nauseous.
But from there, he started talking about everything leading up to the shooting and how Devin, who he referred to as a pedophile, was masturbating in front of his kids. Now, the detectives were actually really understanding and likely to get Major John talking. Detective Klitsch even brought up this podcast he had recently listened to.
He told Major John, quote, "'So I gotta tell you, dude, I just got back from Seattle about an hour ago.'" Have you ever heard of the Sean Ryan show? Well, you'll have to listen to this podcast. But my wife cried the whole way to Seattle. We were listening to this sex predator bullshit. End quote. And Major John agreed, telling the detective that he had a huge problem with sexual predators.
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Chapter 6: What was the significance of the Gary Ploschet case mentioned in relation to this story?
this is a tragic situation that will affect the kellogg community detectives continue working to establish a timeline and what led to the shooting according to the charging documents the deaths of kenneth and kenna were premeditated and or to execute vengeance and the deaths of aiken and devin were premeditated to execute vengeance and or committed in the perpetration of a burglary
Major John Allen Taylor had his first appearance at the Shoshone County Courthouse just two hours ago. Officers walked him from the Shoshone County Jail right next to me here across the street to the courthouse. Take a look at your screen. You can see video of deputies there escorting him into the courthouse. The proceedings lasted about 25 minutes.
The judge read Taylor his rights, then the five counts he is charged with. That's one count of felony burglary and four counts of first degree murder.
you did willfully, deliberately, and with malice of forethought, unlawfully kill the person of Kenneth R. Gardapi, a human being, to wit, by shooting him, which resulted in his death, and which was premeditated and or to execute vengeance. That offense carries a potential death and or life imprisonment. Do you understand the charge and the potential maximum penalties for that count?
Yes.
From those charges, we learned who the four people killed were. Kenna and Kenneth Gardepe, Devin Smith, and someone the judge referred to as A.S. During bail arguments, the prosecution told the judge one of the victims was a child under 18 years old.
The prosecution also went over Taylor's criminal history, which included several misdemeanors, and told the judge some of the probable cause in the case.
Admissions were ultimately made to the offenses charged. In subsequent interviews by law enforcement, with those in or around the scene, identified both a motive, a method, and a witness to at least two of the four charged murders.
The judge denied Taylor bail in this case and also set the preliminary hearing for 1.30 in the afternoon on July 3rd. There will also be a status conference at 8.30 that morning. In Wallace, Nicole Hernandez, Crime 2 News.
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Chapter 7: What events led to the tragic shootings on June 18, 2023?
someone like that should not be out into society he should have gotten help he should have been in an institution he should have not ever been around our kids my husband is like he's worked so hard so i can be a mom and take care of our kids and he worked so hard and like we've been together since we were 14 like he just wants he's always just wanted to be a dad and a provider and a good person and that's what he
Shortly after the murders, Major John's brother, Buddy Kaler, created a GoFundMe for Kaylee and her three children. It read, My name is Buddy Kaler, and I'm trying to raise money for my sister-in-law and three small children for rent, groceries, and the necessities to live after a tragic event.
After enduring unthinkable sexual harassment by a neighbor, the current situation has left my brother in jail and the three kids and mom without a provider. Thank you for your donations. Anything helps. Today, the GoFundMe is no longer accepting donations. However, it raised $4,529 with a goal of only $4,000. So, as you can see, members of their community felt for the Kaler family.
Kaylee had been a stay-at-home mom, and now that her husband was in jail, she was going to have to raise their three children all on her own. But their family was very relieved, when on June 21, 2023, the prosecuting attorney, Benjamin Allen, stated that the state of Idaho would not be seeking the death penalty in Major John's trial. Benjamin stated,
After careful consideration and discussion with the victim's family, our office has made the choice to remove the death penalty as a sentencing option, which will set the path of criminal procedure in this case on course as a non-capital first-degree murder.
This decision comes as a result of careful consideration of the realities of death penalty statistics within our state, as well as discussions with the family members of the victims involved in this tragic event.
The community of Kellogg, Idaho was completely shaken by this quadruple homicide. Resident Dawn Rauenhorst remembered that the day it happened, she had just left her daughter's house across the street from the shooting when she noticed flashing police lights.
Dawn admitted to the local newspaper that she figured it was a car accident or that they were responding to a medical call at the nearby nursing home. She said, quote, "'I didn't imagine it would ever be anything serious.' And that's how many people in this community felt. This was not the kind of town where families are wiped out in their own homes.
This neighborhood in particular was quiet, calm, and mostly filled with elderly people, people who looked out for one another. In fact, according to residents, It was common to get your neighbors to grab your mail for you if you were out of town. If you were missing an ingredient while you were making dinner, you could knock on your neighbor's door and they'd give you whatever you needed.
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Chapter 8: What happened during the police response and Majorjon Kaylor's arrest?
During this time, Major John sat and waited in the Shoshone County Jail, awaiting his next court appearance. On October 20, 2023, Major John's defense attorney, James Siebe, filed a motion to suppress the statements he had given to Sergeant Jared Bulaski and Detective Klitsch on June 18, 2023, arguing a Fifth Amendment violation.
The court documents stated that Detective Klitsch failed to read Major John his Miranda rights before he made incriminating statements to the officers.
james siebe asked the court to throw out everything major john said due to the fact that major john had been coerced into speaking by detective klitsch after he mentioned the podcast about sexual predators and kaylee's facebook post about devon on november 8th the prosecution and defense team argued in front of a judge in wallace idaho
Detective Klitsch and Sergeant Jared Belaski stated that Major John willingly spoke to them, a choice that was all on his own and not from a formal interrogation. They also said that they did not ask details about the murders until after his Miranda rights were read. And body cam footage worn by both men backed these statements up.
Now to a developing story. Major John Kaler, the Kellogg man accused of killing a family of four over the summer, was back in court this afternoon. KREM 2's Kyle Simchuk was in court as Kaler's lawyers fought to have his charges dropped.
Major John Kaler appeared in court this afternoon wearing an orange jumpsuit. We saw his wife and other family members sitting in the pews right behind him. On the other side of the court, you had at least one family member of the four victims and other supporters. Kaler's defense is now asking the judge to throw out his confession, saying law enforcement violated his rights that day.
A Shoshone County Lieutenant and an Idaho State Police detective both taking the witness stand today explaining why Major John Kaler was read his Miranda rights more than 90 minutes after being in police custody and after prosecutors say the 31 year old confessed to shooting his four neighbors.
Kaler's attorney wants the judge to throw out the confession since Kaler had not yet been informed he had the right to remain silent and to have an attorney present.
When I initially approached, nobody appeared to be in any sort of distress compared to what I was dispatched to.
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Chapter 9: How did Majorjon Kaylor explain his actions during questioning?
Kenna's aunt Teresa described her as, quote, a single mom that worked harder than ever to raise her babies. She was a good mama. She was tough, strong-willed, and very independent. She always made sure her boys had everything they needed and some things that they wanted. End quote. Teresa went on to say that Devin and Aiken were robbed of their lives.
She concluded with, quote, if what he did to our family doesn't haunt him every day, I hope that at least what he did to his family does. End quote. At least four impact statements stated that both Devin and Aiken were polite. Family friend Judith Haley wrote that both boys were, quote, well-mannered, respectful, and never demanding.
And family friend Gerilyn Sylvia said, quote, they would always address people yes ma'am and yes sir when they spoke, end quote. Now, obviously, the deaths of these four victims were horrific. impacting not only family and friends, but the entire community of Kellogg and the state of Idaho as a whole.
In fact, only seven months prior to the quadruple homicide, the University of Idaho stabbings rocked the state when four students, Madison Mogan, Kaylee Gonsalves, Zanna Cronodle, and Ethan Chapman were found stabbed to death in a three-story home near the university campus. Now that is a story that we will definitely be covering on the podcast someday.
But even though these tragedies were unrelated, both cast a dark heavy shadow over the state of Idaho.
On March 25, 2024, Major John Kaler was escorted into a packed courtroom in Wallace, Idaho. As Shoshone County District Court Judge Barbara Duggan handed down her sentence, Major John stared ahead, emotionless. Ultimately, he received the maximum penalty for his actions, life in prison without the possibility of parole. The judge told him, The event is a particularly heinous event.
You've taken four individuals from this community based on your decision." After handing down the sentence, friends and family members were allowed to speak to Major John directly and let him know that his decision that evening changed their lives forever. Ken Aguadipi's mother, Jerry Silva, said, We lost three generations. I haven't seen, heard, or touched my kids in nine months. I can't sleep.
Devin and Aiken's grandfather, David Silva, told Judge Duggan, He killed an entire branch of our family tree. Never any great-grandchildren to watch grow up. I lost my best friend, referring to Aiken. He spent hundreds of hours volunteering throughout the community. An entire beautiful family, taken by one person.
Kaler can appeal, but it's unclear if he is going to at this point. I did speak to Shoshone County Sheriff Holly Lindsey today who said it'll be a matter of weeks or even months before Kaler is transferred to state prison.
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