Court documents: Joseph Kennedy confessed to killing 4 Okmulgee men and cutting them up

Jack Money, Oklahoman
·3 min read
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The remains of four men were discovered on Oct. 14 in the Deep Fork River.
The remains of four men were discovered on Oct. 14 in the Deep Fork River.

OKMULGEE — A judge has increased bail for Joseph Lloyd Kennedy II to $10 million after a prosecutor said he confessed to a friend he killed four men and cut them up in October.

Kennedy has been a person of interest since he fled Oklahoma after the men's bodies were found shot, dismembered and dumped in a nearby river. According to a prosecutor's affidavit filed Nov. 15, Kennedy allegedly told a friend "they were stealing from him" and that he killed them and cut them up.

Formal charges related to the slayings have not yet been filed against Kennedy.

The prosecutor's affidavit was filed in Okmulgee County district court in an effort to increase Kennedy's bond to $10 million from $500,000. A judge unsealed the affidavit Thursday after Kennedy's attorneys pushed for an explanation about why their client's bond had been increased so much.

In the affidavit, Assistant District Attorney Carmen Rainbolt said Kennedy already had fled Oklahoma once and prosecutors believed he would flee again if he were released from custody.

An Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent carries evidence into the Okmulgee Police Department on Oct. 19.
An Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent carries evidence into the Okmulgee Police Department on Oct. 19.

Court filing details state's investigation of Joseph Kennedy

The prosecutor's affidavit outlines Joseph Kennedy's alleged movement in the days after Mark Chastain, Billy Chastain, Mike Sparks and Alex Stevens were reported missing.

Here is a look at the prosecutor's timeline, as outlined in the affidavit:

Oct. 9

  • 3 p.m.: On the day prosecutors believe the shooting deaths occurred, Kennedy is seen parking his PT Cruiser across the street from his scrapyard at a Coke plant.

  • 5:37 p.m.: Mark Chastain's phone records indicate he arrives at the scrapyard.

  • 6:22 p.m.: Gunshots are reported by a deputy sheriff who lives in the area.

  • 7:59 p.m.: Video shows Kennedy leaving the scrapyard, wearing a different shirt, and leaving the area in his PT Cruiser

  • 10:14 p.m.: Video shows Kennedy returning to the scrapyard, again parking at the Coke plant, this time driving a Toyota Tundra.

  • 11:15 p.m.: Kennedy is seen walking back to the Tundra and leaving the area.

Oct. 10

  • 1:19 a.m.: Kennedy returns to the scrapyard, again parking at the Coke plant.

  • 2:14 a.m.: Kennedy again leaves the scrapyard, still in the Tundra.

  • 2:44 a.m.: Kennedy returns to the scrapyard, again parking at the Coke plant.

  • 4:12 a.m.: Kennedy returns to the truck, drives it north a short distance and pulls into a vacant lot that borders his scrapyard. The lot is referred to as Pine Field.

  • 4:54 a.m.: The truck is seen returning to the Coke plant before turning around and going back to Pine Field.

  • 6:22 a.m.: A "vehicle consistent with the Tundra pickup" is seen leaving Pine Field going west on Sharp Road.

Oct. 14

  • Four bodies are discovered in the Deep Fork River after being seen from a bridge on Sharp Road.

  • Officers find personal items belonging to Mark Chastain in Pine Field with what is believed to be blood.

  • Prosecutors say Kennedy parked his PT Cruiser behind a warehouse in Morris and sometime later takes the Tundra belonging to a friend.

Oct. 15

  • 3 a.m.: Kennedy arrives at the home of a friend in Gore, possessing a bicycle belonging to one of the victims. The bicycle was identified by the victim's family. Kennedy tells the friend the men "were stealing from him" and that he killed them and cut them up. He then leaves her residence.

Kennedy was arrested on a stolen vehicle complaint on Oct. 18 in Daytona Beach, Florida, after the Tundra, which had been reported stolen, was identified by an automated plate reader on a deputy sheriff's patrol car.

There, he was placed on a suicide watch because he told arresting officers he intended to jump off a hotel balcony in Daytona Beach, a charging affidavit showed.

Florida authorities ultimately dropped the stolen vehicle charge against Kennedy, clearing the way for his extradition back to Oklahoma on Nov. 12, where he initially was booked into the Okmulgee County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Joseph Kennedy confesses to killing 4 Okmulgee, Oklahoma men