Photo: Volusia County Jail
A person of interest in the case of four friends who were violently murdered and dismembered in Oklahoma was arrested in Florida. The Okmulgee Police Department said that Joe Kennedy was taken into custody in Daytona Beach Shores in connection with a stolen vehicle case.
Investigators want to speak to Kennedy about the murders of 29-year-old Alex Stevens, 30-year-old Billy Chastain, 32-year-old Mark Chastain, and 32-year-old Mike Sparks.
Police believe the four men were planning to commit a crime when they left Billys' home in Okmulgee on October 9 on bicycles. Their families reported the men missing when they failed to return home.
On Friday (October 14), a passerby contacted police after seeing what appeared to be body parts in the Deep Fork River. Investigators recovered the mutilated remains of the four men and said they had been shot multiple times before they were dismembered and dumped in the river.
Officials have not recovered the gun used to shoot them or their bicycles.
Police said that Kennedy spoke to investigators on Friday and denied knowing the men. He was later reported missing, and officials warned that he may be suicidal.
Kennedy is being held without bond as officials begin the process to extradite him to Oklahoma.
"The District Attorney and the Sheriff will begin the process of getting Kennedy back to Okmulgee County," the Okmulgee Police Department said in a Facebook post. "The murder investigation is ongoing, and investigators continue to follow leads every day. Additional information will be relayed when it is available."