A HAUNTING picture of the man who massacred his own family before torching the house where they gathered for Sunday dinner has emerged.

Alan Smith, 44, has been named as the deranged killer of eight members of his family in Billings, Montana last weekend.

Alan Smith, pictured here with sister Megan, killed her and seven other members of his family last weekend

Smith torched his parent’s house in Billings, Montana after a shocking killing spree

Smith had fallen out with parents Dana and Barbara, who wanted him to move out and live elsewhere.

He eventually agreed but returned home unexpectedly last weekend and unleashed hell, killing four children, his mom, father and a 92-year-old relative in a wheelchair.

Sister Megan, seen together with him in the unearthed picture, was also murdered before he set the property on fire in a desperate attempt to conceal his sickening rampage.

Smith later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The victims were Megan Ghekiere; her children, Landon Ghekiere, 15, Charlotte Ghekiere, 12, Chloe Ireland, 7, and Owen Ireland, 13; Megan’s parents, Barb and Dana Smith; and her 92-year-old grandmother, Evelyn Smith.

The agony for doting dad Adam Ghekiere will last a lifetime.

Ghekiere was working Sunday evening when he heard emergency communications about a shooting near his in-laws’ home in Billings.

He immediately tried calling his family. When nobody answered, he checked the locations of his children and attempted to reach his wife, Megan.

He rushed toward the property, but authorities prevented him from getting closer because the situation was still considered dangerous. From a distance, he could see smoke rising from the house.

“I feared the worst right then,” Ghekiere told The U.S. Sun.

Brave daughter Charlotte’s actions during the attack have given her grieving family another reason to remember her as a hero.

Family friend Jennifer Mercer said Charlotte called 911 while the shooting was taking place in an apparent attempt to get help for her family.

“Charlotte was the hero that dialed 911,” Mercer said. “She tried to save her family.”

Ghekiere, the father of Landon and Charlotte and stepfather to Owen and Chloe, said the alleged gunman had been living with his parents but was eventually asked to leave after tensions in the household intensified.

Landon and Charlotte Ghekiere formed a tight bond in their blended family with Owen and Chloe Ireland

Yellowstone County Sheriff Kent O’Donnell spoke to the media on Wednesday in the wake of the tragedy

“He was like a hermit,” Ghekiere said. “Megan’s parents wanted him to move out a few times, but he just kept sticking around.”

According to Ghekiere, Smith allegedly returned to the home while the family was gathering for their weekly family get-together which was changed from Friday to Sunday because of work commitments and others being out of town.

At the time, Ghekiere was working as an airport rescue firefighter when he heard reports of the unfolding incident over the fire department’s communications system.

His immediate concern was that the shooting might be happening near his in-laws’ home.

“I tried calling the house and no one answered,” he said. “I checked my kids’ locations, both Landon and Charlotte, and no one answered. I called Megan’s cellphone too.”

When he arrived at the property, emergency crews prevented him from getting any closer because the scene was still considered an active-shooter situation.

“I feared the worst right then,” Ghekiere said, adding that the fire was reportedly visible from as far as a mile away.

The house was eventually consumed by flames.

Ghekiere later learned that his wife and children had been killed.

“I don’t think the shooter expected my kids to be there,” he said. “Monster isn’t even enough to describe what he did.”

Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting and subsequent fire.

During a media briefing Wednesday, the Billings Police Department said autopsies must be completed on all of the victims before investigators can provide definitive answers about the mass shooting.

Sheriff Kent O’Donnell also described the painstaking process of searching through the remains of the home.

“I went over to some of the stuff that had been excavated from the house,” O’Donnell said.

Among the items recovered was a family photo album that remained largely intact.

Investigators also found Barbara’s personal Bible, which contained family information inside its cover and appeared to have suffered little damage despite the destruction around it.

“If that doesn’t make you think there’s something higher involved in our lives,” O’Donnell said.

He explained that investigators have been working methodically through the debris, examining the property room by room and removing material shovel by shovel to ensure no potential evidence is overlooked.

“That’s what is making this so slow and hindering some of the information that’s being released,” he said.

For Ghekiere, however, it is the small memories of Charlotte that have become the most precious.

He recalled how his daughter would respond whenever he told her he loved her.

“I keep hearing her quote to me every time I would say ‘I love you’ and she would say ‘I love you more,’” he said.

Landon, meanwhile, was preparing to begin his sophomore year of high school and had already started thinking about his future.

His mother, Erica Schneider, said his life was already mapped out.

“He knew what he wanted,” she said. “All these dreams, all these things he wanted to do and worked so hard to do. They’re just gone.”

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/16913266/alan-smith-killing-billings-montana/