The dismembered remains of four men have been found in Oklahoma a week after they went missing.
Police in Okmulgee identified the victims as brothers Billy Chastain, 30, and Mark Chastain, 32, and their friends, 29-year-old Alex Stevens and Mike Sparks, 32. Authorities said in a statement that they were last seen leaving Billy Chastain’s home on bicycles around 8pm on 9 October.
Their dismembered bodies were discovered in the Deep Fork River on Saturday. Each victim suffered gunshot wounds, police said during a press conference on Monday.
Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice said that the killings had been extremely violent in nature and that the owner of a scrapyard near where the men were found, Joe Kennedy, was a person of interest, Fox23 reported. Mr Kennedy is missing and is believed to be suicidal, but he is not considered a suspect, Mr Prentice said.
Mr Prentice said there were no indications that Mr Kennedy and the victims had any type of relationship. Authorities also found through interviews that the victims had been allegedly planning to commit an unspecified crime before they vanished.
“That belief is based on information supplied by a witness who reports they were invited to go with the men to ‘hit a lick big enough for all of them,’” chief Prentice said. “We do not know what they planned or where they planned to do it.”
Investigators in the case reviewed video and used GPS tracks to gather evidence in the search for the four men. In the hours after they went missing on 9 October, police received several tips of sightings in the area but were unable to obtain confirmation.
Stevens was reportedly seen at a smoke shop at 4am on 10 October by himself, while another witness said he saw the Chastain brothers in the early morning hours of that date near a YMCA location.
“Nothing remarkable was observed inside the salvage yard but evidence of a violent event was discovered on an adjoining property. “Mr Kennedy is considered a person of interest, but no charges have been filed.”
The bicycles are still missing.
A GoFundMe page has been created to raise funds for the brothers. According to the description, Mark Chastain leaves behind his wife and two children, while Billy Chastain is survived by his partner and their four sons.
Police have asked for the public’s assistance as they try to track Mr Kennedy’s whereabouts. He is believed to be driving a Chrysler with license plate LSA245.
The FBI is assisting in the investigation.
