Dismembered bodies pulled from Oklahoma river identified as 4 missing men, police chief says - CNN

CNN  — 

The probe into 4 men who vanished aft leaving an Okmulgee, Oklahoma, location connected bicycles past week is present a execution investigation, the section constabulary main said, after 4 dismembered bodies pulled from a stream were positively identified arsenic the missing men.

“Although the authoritative origin and mode of decease is inactive pending, each unfortunate suffered gunshot wounds,” Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice said successful a quality league Monday. “All 4 bodies were dismembered earlier being placed successful the stream and that is what caused trouble successful determining identities and that’s wherefore it took truthful long.”

The 4 men surviving successful Okmulgee – Mark Chastain, 32; Billy Chastain, 30; Mike Sparks, 32; and Alex Stevens, 29 – were reported missing by relatives past Monday nighttime oregon aboriginal Tuesday, Okmulgee constabulary antecedently said, aft leaving Billy Chastain’s location connected bicycles astir 9 p.m. October 9.

Investigators present judge the 4 men planned to “commit immoderate benignant of transgression act,” Prentice said successful Monday’s quality conference, citing a witnesser who told investigators they had been invited to articulation and to “hit a lick large capable for each of them.”

“That is communal terminology for engaging successful immoderate benignant of transgression behavior, but we bash not cognize what they were readying oregon wherever they planned to bash it,” Prentice said.

Additionally, constabulary searched a scrap gait Saturday successful Okmulgee, Prentice said. While “nothing singular was observed” inside, Prentice said determination was “evidence of a convulsive event” recovered connected an adjoining property.

Prentice said determination is simply a idiosyncratic of involvement but nary charges person been filed. The idiosyncratic of involvement has gone missing arsenic of Saturday nighttime and could beryllium suicidal, Prentice said.

The 4 bodies were recovered Friday aft a passerby called constabulary astir seeing thing suspicious. Prentice was notified astir the affirmative IDs connected Sunday evening, helium said Monday, and the families of the 4 men were besides notified. They had seemed to resign themselves to the information that the bodies were their loved ones, Prentice said, but quality that they had been dismembered was “obviously a shock.”

Police person not recovered immoderate bicycles, nor the weapon utilized successful the killings.

“I’ve worked implicit 80 murders successful my career. I person worked murders involving aggregate victims. I person worked dismemberments, but this lawsuit involves the highest fig of victims, and it’s a precise convulsive event,” Prentice said. “So I can’t accidental that I’ve ne'er worked thing similar it, but it’s close up determination astatine the top.”