The man named as a person of interest in the grisly murders of four Oklahoma men who were reported missing last week before being found shot and dismembered in a nearby river had prior convictions for violent crime.
State records show that Joseph Lloyd Kennedy II — the owner of a salvage yard where the victims’ cellphones last pinged — is a convicted felon serving a 10-year suspended sentence for assault and battery.
According to a report by News on 6, the 2013 conviction stems from a confrontation between Kennedy and six intruders who broke into his business, A&A Auto Salvage, in 2012. Kennedy fired at the would-be burglars, wounding one.
He is now a person of interest in the murders of Mark Chastain, 32, his brother Billy Chastain, 30, Mike Sparks, 32, and Alex Stevens, 29, whose remains were recovered from the Deep Fork River over the weekend.
“We believe the men planned to commit some kind of criminal act when they left the resident on West 6th Street,” Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice said at a news conference Monday.
Joseph Lloyd Kennedy II is a convicted felon serving a 10-year suspended sentence for assault and battery. AP
The four male victims were reported missing before their bodies were discovered. News on 6
Authorities claim person of interest Joseph Lloyd Kennedy II could be suicidal. News on 6
Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice discusses the quadruple murder during a press conference in Okmulgee, Oklahoma on Oct. 17, 2022. Stephen Pingry/Tulsa World via APAfter a Friday search of a neighboring scrap yard revealed blood evidence of a “violent event,” police interviewed Kennedy, but did not arrest him.
He has since disappeared and police believe he may be suicidal, Prentice said.
”Mr. Kennedy is a person of interest that we would like to talk to [again],” the chief added, noting Prentice was not a suspect.
Convicted felon Joseph Lloyd Kennedy II is a person of interest in the murders of four men in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. News on 6
Law enforcement officers investigate a bridge near the Deep Fork River where four bodies were discovered in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. Stephen Pingry/Tulsa World via AP
(Clockwise from top left) Billy Chastain, his brother Mark Chastain, Alex Stevens and Mike Sparks were shot and dismembered. Okmulgee Police Department/AFP vOkmulgee police did not immediately respond to a request for a comment Tuesday.
