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What led to the deaths of 4 men whose bodies were found in an Oklahoma river? Researchers know this

2022-10-19T10:26:15.824Z


As the investigation continues, the discovery of the dismembered bodies has raised more questions. Four dismembered bodies found in Oklahoma river 1:45 (CNN) -- Investigators are following leads every day to discover how the dismembered bodies of four men ended up in an Oklahoma river, but when water is involved, it's much harder to identify the evidence, the police chief said. . The men – Mark Chastain, 32; Billy Chastain, 30; Mike Sparks, 32, and Alex Stevens, 29, were reported missing by r


Four dismembered bodies found in Oklahoma river 1:45

(CNN) --

Investigators are following leads every day to discover how the dismembered bodies of four men ended up in an Oklahoma river, but when water is involved, it's much harder to identify the evidence, the police chief said. .

The men – Mark Chastain, 32;

Billy Chastain, 30;

Mike Sparks, 32, and Alex Stevens, 29, were reported missing by relatives after they biked out of Billy Chastain's home in Okmulgee, Okla., on the night of Oct. 9, police said.

Days later, their bodies were found, all shot and dismembered, in a river outside Okmulgee, a city of about 11,000 people about 35 miles south of Tulsa.

  • 4 dismembered bodies washed up in an Oklahoma river.

    This is what we know

Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice called it a "very violent event" when he announced Monday that the missing persons case had turned into a homicide investigation.

A man who was named as a person of interest in the gruesome slayings, 67-year-old Joe Kennedy, was arrested Tuesday in Florida on an unrelated charge of grand theft of a motor vehicle and is being held without bail, police said. authorities.

He is also being held on a warrant issued for his arrest in the Okmulgee County District Court in connection with a 2012 shooting.

Kennedy has not been named a suspect in the crimes.

Police have said they want to speak to him again, but have not specified why.

It is unclear if Kennedy has an attorney.

He is scheduled to appear before a Volusia County, Florida, judge on Wednesday afternoon, according to the clerk of courts.

While it's unclear exactly what led to the men's deaths, it appears they were planning to commit a crime when they left Billy Chastain's home, Prentice said.

That assumption is based on “information provided by a witness reporting that they were invited to go with the men to, quote in quotes, 'Deal a blow big enough for everyone,'” the chief said Monday at a news conference.

"That's common terminology for engaging in some type of criminal conduct, but we don't know what they were planning or where they were planning to do it," he added.

As the investigation continues, the discovery of the dismembered bodies has raised more questions.

The detectives, who have not recovered the firearm used in the murders, face the difficult task of combing the river.

Police are investigating after the bodies of the four missing men were found dismembered in a river near Okmulgee, Oklahoma.

How water could affect research

The four bodies found in the river "were submerged in the water for what appears to be an extended period of time," Prentice previously told CNN.

That meant the coroner had more difficulty identifying the bodies and police faced a complicated investigation into the river, which "appears to be a dump," the chief said.

"Water always affects decomposition, and depending on temperature, depending on current flow, there are a lot of different factors that do that," Prentice said during a Monday news conference.

"Whenever water is involved, it makes it much more difficult to identify the evidence."

Prentice said investigators have to be more methodical as they sift through the water "because it's so easy to miss the evidence."

The chief said he had never worked on a case with so many dismembered bodies, and it took several days to recover all the remains.

"Although the official cause and manner of death are still pending, each victim sustained gunshot wounds," Prentice said.

"The four bodies were dismembered before being thrown into the river."

As the investigation continues, the chief said the department has requested additional video surveillance from businesses in the area and continues to follow up on tips about different sightings.

As of Monday, police had not recovered any bikes the men were riding when they left the house, the chief said.

Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice discusses the discovery of four dismembered bodies during a news conference Monday.

Police have location data from the men's phones

After the men were reported missing, police said they believed at least two of them were carrying cell phones.

Investigators traced the phones and found the devices went to two junkyards, one about 5 miles from the river and the other about 10 to 12 miles from the river, Prentice told CNN on Saturday.

He warned that the paths of telephones did not necessarily have to be the paths traveled by men.

Police later found "evidence of a violent event" on property adjoining one of those locations, the chief said without elaborating.

Person of interest owns salvage yards to where phones were traced, police say

Kennedy, the person of interest in the case, owns the salvage yards, the chief said.

Police have said Kennedy denied knowing the men and appeared cooperative with investigators during an interview Friday afternoon.

But the boss later announced that Kennedy had disappeared.

Two days later, Kennedy was arrested in Daytona Beach Shores in a vehicle reported stolen Monday, Okmulgee police said.

According to the arrest warrant in Florida, he was reported as a missing person, but Kennedy told officers he was not a missing person and was not in danger.

joe kennedy

Family 'shocked' by violent nature of killings

Jon Chastain, the uncle of Mark and Billy Chastain, told CNN his family was "shocked," "outraged" and filled with "anguish" when police announced that the brothers, along with their two friends, were found murdered and butchered

Chastain said he couldn't imagine his nephews doing anything that would justify such violence.

Mark was the father of two children and Billy had four children.

Chastain described them as hard-working and good parents who loved their families.

“Whatever was going on, I don't know.

But what I do know is that we need some justice for this,” Chastain said.

Mark Chastain's wife, Jessica Chastain, told CNN affiliate KOKI that she reported her husband missing the day he disappeared.

Now, she says that while her husband's death still doesn't feel real, she is focused on getting justice for him.

“Eventually the truth will come out.

Eventually,” she said.

CNN's Ed Lavandera, Ashley Killough and Amanda Watts contributed to this report.

homicides

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2022-10-19

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