Missing Utah man, 57, is charged with murdering his wife, mistress and her daughter 'after his spouse caught him cheating'

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A pilot who went on the run for two months after allegedly shooting dead his wife, his mistress and her daughter when he was caught cheating, has been charged with murder.

Gerald 'Mike' Bullinger is charged with three counts of first degree murder over the deaths of Cheryl Baker, Nadja Medley, 48, and 14-year-old Payton Medley on June 6.

Their bodies were discovered hidden inside a shed at Bullinger's Caldwell, Idaho home. 

But Bullinger, a 57-year-old pilot and outfitter, has been missing ever since the shooting. His car was found on July 12 abandoned by a campground near Moran, Wyoming.

Tragic love affair: School teacher Cheryl Baker, 57, was found dead in a wooden shed outside the new farmhouse she bought with her pilot husband Gerald 'Mike' Bullinger, 60 - after she had shown up to their new place on a surprise visit and discovered him with his mistress

Nadja Medley (left) and her daughter Payton are pictured with Bullinger (center) in a photo the mom posted online in August 2016. He is accused of murdering both of them and going on the run

Police have described him as armed and dangerous.

The shooting took place in June after Bullinger's wife Cheryl drove to the farmhouse he was doing up, as a 'happy surprise' for her husband, DailyMail.com has learned.

Baker, who had retired from her teacher job at Greenwood Charter School on June 6, decided to make the five-hour drive to Caldwell, Idaho weeks earlier than planned, rather than stay in Ogden, Utah to sell the family home.

Little did she know that Bullinger – who told his wife he was living in a trailer alone while fixing up the rundown property ready for her to move in – was actually playing happy family with his mistress of two years Nadja Medley and her teenage daughter Payton at the house. 

The trio were seen in a series of photos and videos on the property posted on Medley's Facebook page, including one in which she wrote: 'My new place', with two 'love-struck' emojis next to a video showing beautiful open fields with the farm buildings in the background.

What happened next isn't clear but the dead bodies of Baker, 57, Medley, 47, and 14-year-old Payton were all found lined up and covered with plastic in a shed on the property on June 19.

Police are now searching for Bullinger, 60, who is considered a 'person of interest' in the deaths.

Baker's brother Byron Baker, a contractor who lives in Lincoln Park, Michigan, told DailyMail.com that a friend of his sister had told him about the surprise visit.

'The friend said Cheryl decided to surprise Mike and drop in on him at the farm,' he said.

'She was supposed to stay behind and sell their house while Mike did plumbing work, minor repairs and painted some rooms, but having left her job at the school she must have thought it would be a nice surprise to go to see him.

A chilling Facebook video posted by Bullinger's mistress Nadja Medley, who was unaware her partner was married, shows the wooden shed where the three decomposing bodies covered in plastic were found 

Nadja showed off the new Caldwell, Idaho home and can be heard saying: 'Well folks here's my new backyard, kind of liking this just a little bit, still a little bit of fence to build here, actually a lot'

'We can't know for sure what her thinking was, but I remember she was supposed to go to Albuquerque (New Mexico) for something, I can't remember what, but ended up in Idaho instead, so it makes sense.'

Mr Baker, 62, said his sister, who he described as a vegetarian into spirituality and meditation, had no clue her husband was cheating on her.

He said Bullinger is a corporate jet contract pilot who regularly lived out of state or traveled for weeks at a time – the perfect cover for an affair.

Mr Baker said: 'They had bought a trailer around a year ago and Mike would often stay in that if he was away.

'But they'd always see each other on weekends or in between his jobs, or often enough for Cheryl to believe they were still married. Cheryl is pretty laid back and she accepted that lifestyle, they never rowed about it.'

Baker has his theories as to what might have happened and around the events that led to his sister's death, but he is still mystified as to what Bullinger's 'plan' was when it came to dealing with both his women.

Love triangle: Bullinger had told his wife he was fixing up the property for her to move in - but was actually living a secret double life with Medley (pictured) in the new home

'What was the plan, none of it makes sense. I've met him a few times and he was a normal, nice guy, very relaxed,' he said.

'The closest theory I can come up with is he wanted Cheryl to sell the house in Ogden, which was in her name, so he could cash in on the money before leaving her for his mistress. But that's just a guess. But why organize for both women to come to the new house in Idaho?'

He added: 'They always seemed to struggle for money considering he was a pilot, but then again he was living two lives.'

Mr Baker said his sister's marriage, on the face of it, was perfect.

'They seemed perfectly matched, they had the same thoughts, the same likes and dislikes,' he said. 'They'd go off to the back country together, hiking, river rafting, they were very active. 

In March 2016, the mom took to Facebook to share the news she would be moving in with Bullinger and her daughter 'once his new job is stable and he's settled in a bit'

Friends of Medley say she had been in a relationship with Bullinger for two years without knowing he was married, and they believe two of the three bodies are the mother and her 14-year-old daughter, Payton (right)

'They owned mules up on the mountain near Ogden which they used to ride and I remember she once planned a week-long rafting trip through the Grand Canyon that they went on.'

He added that his sister, who didn't have any children, was a 'quiet, well-educated, homebody' who was 'really into the children she taught'.

'She was into crafts and made all kinds of things and would knit scarves and mittens and clothing that she would sell,' he said.

'She was a very loving person, everybody liked her, she was warm and fuzzy with everybody and soft-spoken and quiet.'

Tragically, DailyMail.com has learned that Baker had been very excited about the move to Idaho and had spoken glowingly to colleagues at Greenwood Charter School in Harrisville about spending her retirement in the countryside.

The art teacher even mentioned the large shed on the farm, the place where police made the gruesome discovery of the three bodies, saying she hoped to turn the building into an art studio once her and her husband were settled.

Baker, who had recently retired from her job, decided to make the five-hour drive to Caldwell, Idaho weeks earlier than planned, rather than stay in Ogden, Utah to sell the family home (pictured) 

Teacher Jaime Drake told DailyMail.com: 'Cheryl bought the farm with her husband Mike and they planned to go there to retire.

'She thought her husband was living in a trailer on the farm fixing the place up by himself. She didn't know this other woman and her daughter was with him.

'She had no clue he was having an affair, not one suspicion. They seemed happily married, she never spoke bad of him, yes he was away all the time with his work, but that's something she accepted.'

Colleague Julie Grose said they last saw Baker – who was a veteran teacher with 30 years experience - at the school on June 6 for her last day.

'We had a meeting to say goodbye and Cheryl was talking about her retirement and the farm. She told us about a shed on the property that she planned to convert into an art studio, she was passionate about art.

'She seemed so happy talking about it, it is very sad. Why would she have said that if she knew about this other woman, she was never phony, she never said anything to upset people.'

Horseplay: Nadja Medley posted pictures of her alleged murderer play wrestling with her daughter - who he is accused of murdering

Another video from August 2016 shows the 60-year-old teaching Medley's daughter, who called him 'dad,' how to shoot a gun

Drake added: 'She was a wonderful teacher and gave so much, she will be missed.'

It is alleged Bullinger lined up the dead bodies of his victims in a shed on the farm property in Idaho, covering them in plastic before fleeing the scene.

The killer had shot each victim once.

Idaho police are searching for the pilot after the badly decomposing corpses were discovered on Monday, June 19. They are believed to have been there for around ten days.

Bullinger is a suspect in the three murders and has been charged with failing to report the deaths after the bodies were found on the farm he purchased with Baker last month.

As well as the three dead bodies police found several dead birds and dogs and other living animals including a snake, rat and some rabbits, which were removed during the subsequent investigation.

Police are now actively seeking Bullinger, believed to be driving a white 2007 Ford Focus with Utah license plates numbered 129UMP.

Bullinger was a pilot with Classic Aviations Service in Utah before taking on contract work in Idaho.

He was last seen in Ogden, Utah, on June 12.