Okmulgee murder suspect allegedly confesses crime to Gore woman

D.A. outlines case in press conference

Murder charges have been filed against Joseph L. Kennedy II, accused of killing four Okmulgee men in October.

Okmulgee-McIntosh County District Attorney Carol Iski announced the formal charges Monday afternoon in a press conference. Kennedy, 67, is charged with four counts of first degree murder in the deaths of Mark Chastain, 32, Billy Chastain, 30, Mikel Sparks, 32, and Alex Stevens, 29.

Thousands of hours of manpower and work has gone into the investigation by the District 25 Violent Crime Task Force, made up of law enforcement agencies from both Okmulgee and McIntosh counties.

Iski presented the history and details of the case as follows from the court affidavit: “On Sunday, Oct. 9, the four men left the home on W. 6th Street and traveled by bicycle to a scrapyard located near 20th and Madison. It was believed that one or more of the men were pulling trailers,” Iski said. “The scrapyard was owned by Joseph Lloyd Kennedy.”

When none of the young men returned home the evening of Oct. 9, the next day, “Monday, Oct. 10, Jessica Chastain and Megan Gordon reported Jessica’s husband Mark Chastain, his brother Billy Chastain (the father of Megan’s children) and their friend Mikel (Mike) Sparks missing. A few hours later, Teresa Stevens reported her son Alexray (Alex) Stevens missing and, at that time, she believed he was with Mark Chastain, Billy Chastain and Mike Sparks. Jessica told officers she believed the men left 1105 W. 6th Street in Okmulgee, on bicycles, possibly pulling trailers.

Jessica and Mark Chastain utilized the ‘Life 360” cellular telephone app to track each other’s location. Jessica provided information regarding Mark’s last known location. Upon examination of the information contained in the app, it is believed Mark Chastain himself traveled from 1105 W. 6th Street in Okmulgee to a salvage yard located at 1205 W. 20th Street, owned by Kennedy.

According to the app, Mark Chastain’s phone tracked inside the salvage yard between 5 and 6 p.m. and remained there for an extended period of time. Mark Chastain’s phone left the salvage yard around 7:59 p.m. and traveled to the Murphy’s USA gas station on South 75, in Okmulgee.

Officers obtained video from the Murphy’s USA and upon review of the video did not see any of the missing men. Officers did, however, observe the defendant standing next to his blue Chrysler PT Cruiser at the north fuel pumps. Based on the records from the app, Mark Chastain’s phone next traveled from Murphy’s USA to another salvage yard, also owned by Kennedy on South 75 near Schulter, Okla. The salvage on South 75 is the last known location Mark Chastain’s phone transmitted location information.

Four dismembered human bodies were discovered in the Deep Fork River near a bridge on Sharp Road on Oct. 14. The bodies were recovered from the river and sent to the Chief Medical Examiner Office in Tulsa where they were later identified as Mark Chastain, Billy Chastain, Mikel Sparks and Alexray Stevens. During the autopsy, it was discovered all four victims had suffered gunshot wounds and had been transected at the waist area. Additionally, Sparks had both arms removed.

During the recovery of the bodies on Oct. 14, other officers executed a search warrant on the 20th Street salvage yard owned by the defendant and searched properties north and west from the salvage yard. During that search officers located blood evidence on the ground, a set of broken dentures and other personal items about 150 yards north of the north fence line. They also located a tree which had been struck recently by a bullet and were able to recover it. Also during the search, a black wagon was located. All items were photographed and placed in evidence.

During a voluntary interview, the defendant told officers he’d been experiencing thefts at his salvage yard on 20th Street and that he personally surveilled it on Oct. 9, in an attempt to catch the perpetrators.

Kennedy did not mention seeing or having any contact with the victim(s) and denied having contact with them.

Video surveillance was obtained from Braden Winch and Great Plains Coca-Cola located across the street from the defendant’s salvage yard on 20th Street. Upon review of the video, Kennedy can be seen parking his blue PT Cruiser on the west side of the Coca-Cola on Oct. 9 around 3 p.m. and walking to his salvage yard where he remained until around 8 p.m. at which time he returned to his vehicle and left the area.

A deputy with the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office submitted a report which states he was at his residence which is about 4/10 of a mile from the salvage yard on 20th Street. In his report, he states around 6:22 p.m. on Oct. 9, he heard 10 to 12 shots fired. He reported the shots came from southwest of his residence, which is in direct line with the salvage yard. He also characterized the shots, based on his training and experience, as high-powered rifle shots.

The bodies of the four men were discovered on Oct. 14 and on that day, Kennedy parked his PT Cruiser behind a warehouse in Morris and sometime later, took a Toyota Tundra belonging to Howard Arnold. After a stop in Gore, he drove to Daytona Beach Shores, Fla. The owner of the vehicle reported it stolen and when observed by officers in Daytona Beach Shores, they initiated a traffic stop and placed Kennedy under arrest for possession of a stolen vehicle.

On Oct. 15, a search of the scrapyard and adjacent properties were conducted. During the daylight search, officers located numerous 7.62 caliber shell casings in the same area, both the tree struck by the bullet and the area the blood and personal items were located. Those personal items are believed to belong to Mark Chastain.

On the evening of Oct. 17 Okmulgee police received information regarding a woman, who allegedly has a relationship with the defendant, that may have information regarding the murders. Kennedy allegedly went to her home in Gore in the early morning hours of Oct. 10 and while there, told her he’d caught men stealing from him and had shot them. She said her mother told her that after killing them, he had cut them up. Kennedy had also brought a bicycle which he reportedly left for the woman’s son.

On the morning of Oct. 15, Kennedy again went to the home in Gore around 3 a.m. The woman reported the defendant was agitated and told her he was leaving, and she would never see him again. She reported that when she asked the defendant what was wrong, he told her ‘they were all against him, and he lost it and just started shooting.” She said he told her that after he shot them, he cut them up.

ATF Analyst Mark Sonnendecker was available to examine phone data that we received from Kennedy’s phone records. Upon examination of the data, Sonnendecker told Agent Keck he’d identified cell towers located west of Okmulgee accessed by Kennedy’s phone and based on that data, Sonnendecker believed the only way for Kennedy’s phone to access those towers was for the phone to physically be on Sharp Road, west of Okmulgee in the “general area’ of the bridge where the victim’s bodies were discovered.

Two searches were conducted on a grey Toyota Tundra driven by the defendant on the night of the murders; one authorized by consent of Sandra Kennedy and the other by authority of a search warrant.

During the first search, blood was observed on the B-pillar located between the front and rear driver’s side doors. Swabs were taken and submitted to the OSBl lab. Presumptive tests were conducted and confirmed the substance was, in fact, blood.

A pair of tennis shoes were also found in a black Toyota Tundra reported stolen by Howard Arnold and was driven by the defendant in Daytona Beach Shores, Fla. Upon visual examination investigator McCollum observed spots he believed were blood drops. Samples were taken, and the samples and shoes were submitted to the OSBl lab. Presumptive tests confirmed the spots were blood. A photo of the shoes was shown to Sandra Kennedy, the defendant’s wife, and she advised the shoes looked like a pair owned by the defendant.

An affidavit was unsealed last Thursday by an Okmulgee County judge after attorneys for Kennedy asked the reasoning behind an increase in bail.

Kennedy has been a person of interest in the October murder case of four Okmulgee men. He fled Oklahoma after the men’s bodies were found shot, dismembered and dumped in the Deep Fork River.

According to a prosecutor’s affidavit filed on Nov. 15, Kennedy allegedly told a friend ‘they were stealing from him’ and that he killed them and cut them up.

In the affidavit, Assistant District Attorney Carmen Rainbolt said Kennedy already had fled Oklahoma once and prosecutors believed he would flee again if he were released from custody.

The court document outlines Kennedy’s alleged movement in the days after the four men were reported missing by their families.

Here is the timeline outlined in the affidavit: Oct. 9 3 p.m.: On the date prosecutors believe the shooting deaths occurred, Kennedy is seen parking his PT Cruiser across the street from his scrapyard at a Coke plant.

5:37 p.m.: Mark Chastain’s phone records indicate he arrives at the scrapyard.

6:22 p.m.: Gunshots are reported by a deputy sheriff that lives in the area.

7:59 p.m.: Video shows Kennedy leaving the scrapyard wearing a different shirt, and leaving the area in his PT Cruiser.

10:14 p.m.: Video shows Kennedy returning to the scrapyard, again parking at the Coke plant, this time driving a Toyota Tundra.

11:15 p.m.: Kennedy is seen walking back to the Tundra and leaving the area.

Oct. 10 1:19 a.m.: Kennedy returns to the scrapyard, again parking at the Coke plant.

2:14 a.m.: Kennedy again leaves the scrapyard, still in the Tundra.

2:44 a.m.: Kennedy returns to the scrapyard, again parking at the Coke plant.

4:12 a.m.: Kennedy returns to the truck, drives it north a short distance and pulls into a vacant lot that borders his scrapyard. The lot is referred to as Pine Field.

4:54 a.m.: The truck is seen returning to the Coke plant before turning around and going back to Pine Field.

6:22 a.m.: A vehicle consistent with the Tundra pickup is seen leaving Pine Field going west on Sharp Road.

Oct. 14 Four bodies are discovered in the Deep Fork River after being seen from a bridge on Sharp Road. Officers find personal items belonging to Mark Chastain in Pine Field with what is believed to be blood.

That evening, prosecutors say Kennedy parked his PT Cruiser behind a warehouse in Morris and sometime later took the Tundra belonging to a friend.

Oct. 15 3 a.m.: Kennedy arrives at the home of a friend in Gore, with a bicycle belonging to one of the victims. The bicycle was identified by the victim’s family. Kennedy tells the friend the men ‘were stealing from him’ and that he killed them and cut them up. He then leaves her residence.

Kennedy was arrested by authorities on a stolen vehicle complaint in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Oct. 18 after the Tundra, which had been reported stolen, was identified by an automated plate reader on a deputy sheriff’s patrol unit.

Florida authorities ultimately dropped the stolen vehicle charge against Kennedy, clearing the way for his extradition back to Oklahoma on Nov. 12, where he initially was booked into the Okmulgee County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond. His bond was increased to $10,000,000.

Due to the filing of the four murder charges, Kennedy is now being held on no bond.

Iski said it is too early to say whether the death penalty would be sought for Kennedy.