Oklahoma river killings: All you need to know

Police have found the bodies of four men who had gone missing on October 9 in an Oklahoma river. All four victims were shot and their bodies have been found in mutilated conditions, the police have reported.

The four victims in the case were Mark Chastain, 32; Billy Chastain, 30; Mike Sparks, 32; and Alex Stevens, 29. It was only days later that human remains were observed by a passer-by in the same town from where these four individuals had gone missing. The bodies were pulled out of the river on October 15. 

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The police later said that the four individuals had left Chastain’s house on bicycles on Sunday evening. The police had traced the phones of one of the victims to the east of the town and then to its south, but the phone had eventually been switched off or had lost its power.

Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice has said that the four individuals were planning to commit a crime. This hypothesis is based on “information supplied by a witness who reports they were invited to go with the men to quote, unquote, ‘Hit a lick big enough for all of them'”, Prentice clarified.

Prentice also said, “Although the official cause and manner of death is still pending, each victim suffered gunshot wounds”, further adding, “All four bodies were dismembered before being placed in the river, and that is what caused difficulty in determining identities.”

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A person of interest called Joe Kennedy has been arrested in connection to this case. In a statement, the police have said, “The District Attorney and the Sheriff will begin the process of getting Kennedy back to Okmulgee County”, further adding, “The murder investigation is ongoing and investigators continue to follow leads every day.”

There is another person of interest in the case who has been missing thus far. Police believe this individual might be suicidal, and although no case has been filed against them, they are someone “we’d like to talk to”, according to Prentice.