Oklahoma Man Accused of Dismembering 4 people
2022.12.06 20:23
Oklahoma Man Accused of Dismembering 4 people
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – According to court documents, a man from Oklahoma was charged with four counts of murder in the slaying and dismemberment of four men he believed were stealing from his salvage yard.
On Monday, the 67-year-old Joseph Lloyd Kennedy was charged in Okmulgee County court. He could receive the death penalty if found guilty of any of the murders. According to the authorities, they believe Kennedy acted alone. Kennedy did not appear to have an attorney.
For the murders of Billy Jack Chastain, 30, Kennedy is being held without bond in the Okmulgee County jail; Mark Chastain, 32, Michael Sparks, 32; Alex Stevens, age 29 Billy Chastain and Mark Chastain were brothers. Kennedy and all of the men who were killed were from Okmulgee, a 11,000-person city 56 kilometers (35 miles) south of Tulsa.
When Kennedy shot a man in 2012 who he thought was stealing from his salvage yard, he was already on probation. The man was shot once but survived.
Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice stated that he believed the men were out to “commit some sort of criminal act” when the bodies of the four men were discovered and identified in October.
On Monday, reporters asked Okmulgee County District Attorney Carol Iski whether the men were stealing from Kennedy’s salvage yard. Iski announced the charges against Kennedy. She responded, “We don’t have a death penalty in Oklahoma for stealing,” so it would not matter.
Court reports show that in view of wireless information, it is accepted the men had been inside Kennedy’s rescue yard on Oct. 9, the day they were fired and killed with a rifle.
A tree just north of the yard contained bullet fragments, blood, and the personal belongings of some of the men who had been killed. On October 10, the men were reported missing.
Kennedy fled to Daytona Beach Shores, Florida, where he was later arrested on suspicion of driving a stolen vehicle and returned to Oklahoma, where the bodies were discovered on October 14.
According to court documents, a woman with whom Kennedy had a romantic relationship told police officers on Oct. 18 that Kennedy had admitted to her that he had shot the men and cut up their bodies.
