Families of the four missing men are devastated to find out not only were the men murdered, but their bodies were dismembered

Suspect in murders Joseph Lloyd Kennedy II was arrested Monday in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida

He was in a vehicle that had been reported stolen to the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office the same day

Reported missing on Oct. 9, the remains of Mark Chastain, 32, his brother Billy Chastain, 30, Mike Sparks, 32, and Alex Stevens, 29, were recovered from the Deep Fork River in Okmulgee on Friday, Oct. 14

Police have flagged salvage yard owner Joe Kennedy as a person of interest in the murder of the four men

All four were reported missing last week before being found shot and dismembered in a nearby river

Cops flagged Joseph Lloyd Kennedy II, 67, the owner of a salvage yard where the victims’ cellphones last pinged as a ‘person of interest’

Kennedy it is believed, confronted and shot at six men who were breaking into his business

“We believe the men planned to commit some kind of criminal act when they left the residence on West 6th Street,” Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice said

Kennedy II, is a convicted felon serving a 10-year suspended sentence for assault and battery

He had disappeared, believed to be suicidal, just as police want to question him a second time about the incident

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 on Friday in a nearby river, had prior convictions for violent crime.
A statement issued Tuesday morning by Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice said Joseph Lloyd Kennedy II was arrested Monday in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida, in a vehicle that had been reported stolen to the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office the same day.
Kennedy, 67, is the owner of a salvage yard in Okmulgee, authorities have said.
The suspect Joseph Lloyd Kennedy II is the owner of a salvage yard where the victims’ cellphones last pinged. State records show that Kennedy is a convicted felon serving a 10-year suspended sentence for assault and battery.
Giving a press conference on developments earlier on Monday, Okmulgee Police Chief, Joe Prentice said: “Mr. Kennedy is a person of interest that we would like to talk to and currently not a suspect.”

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 on Oct. 14.
Police said they are still piecing together exactly what the four men had planned and what led to their deaths.
“We believe the men planned to commit some type of criminal act when they left the residence on west 6th street. That is based on information supplied by a witness who reports they were invited to go with the men to quote on quote hit a lick big enough for all of them,” Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice said at a news conference Monday.

Speaking during a media interview on Monday, relatives of the four persons previously listed as missing said they are devastated to find out not only were their loved ones murdered, but their bodies were dismembered.
Family members had been hoping for the best and now, they’re filled with grief and shock.
Joseph ‘Joe’ Kennedy owns the salvage yard next to a property where investigators found blood. Police say he is a person of interest in the case and would like to speak to him.
A police search didn’t turn up anything at Kennedy’s salvage yard, but after a Friday search of a neighboring scrap yard revealed blood evidence of a “violent event,” police interviewed Kennedy, but did not arrest him. He denied knowing the four men.
Authorities want to interview him again, but he has not been seen him in three days. Police said they found his blue PT Cruiser Monday afternoon abandoned behind a business in Morris. Those who reported him missing said he could be suicidal.

“Mr. Kennedy is a person of interest that we would like to talk to and currently not a suspect,” said Okmulgee Police Chief, Joe Prentice.
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.
Investigation continues into circumstances surrounding the men’s deaths: “Although the official cause and manner of death is still pending, each victim suffered gunshot wounds,” Chief Prentice said.
“All four bodies were dismembered before being placed in the river and that is what caused difficulty in determining identity, and that’s why it took so long.”
Prosecutors in Okmulgee County are working on Kennedy’s extradition back to Oklahoma.
Meanwhile an arrest warrant has issued for Kennedy related to the felony sentence in Okmulgee for a 2012 conviction for assault and battery. Bond for that warrant is $500,000.