The drugstore worker was arrested in the killings of teen girls

The Okmulgee Police Department Investigates the Three Dismembered Body Cases of Billy Chastain, Mike Sparks, and Alex Stevens

Investigators are following leads every day to find out how dismembered bodies of four men ended up in an Oklahoma river, but whenever water is involved, it makes it much more difficult to identify evidence, the police chief said.

The men – Mark Chastain, 32; Billy Chastain, 30; Mike Sparks, 32; and Alex Stevens, 29 – were reported missing by relatives after leaving Billy Chastain’s Okmulgee, Oklahoma, home on bicycles the evening of October 9, police have said.

Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice described there being a “very violent event,” as he announced Monday the missing persons case had turned into a murder investigation.

According to the arrest warrant in Florida, he was reported as a missing person, but Kennedy told officers he was not a missing person and was not in any danger.

It’s unclear whether Kennedy has an attorney. The clerk of the courts stated that he would appear before a judge in Florida on Wednesday.

It appears they were planning to commit a crime when they left the house, but it remains unclear what led to their deaths.

The chief said at the news conference that there is information provided by a witness who reported they were invited to go with the men to quote, “hit a lick a big enough for all of them.” “That is common terminology for engaging in some type of criminal behavior, but we do not know what they were planning or where they planned to do it,” he added.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/19/us/oklahoma-dismembered-bodies-investigation-wednesday/index.html

Investigation of the murders of two teenage girls in DeLPHI, Indiana, with the aid of a drug store worker and a friend of her husband

“Water always affects decomposition, and depending on temperature, depending on the current flow, there’s a lot of different factors that do that,” Prentice said during a news conference Monday. “Whenever water is involved, it makes it much more difficult to identify evidence.”

Each victim had gunshot wounds and the official cause and manner of death is still pending. “All four bodies were dismembered before being placed in the river.”

As the investigation continues, the chief said the department requested additional video surveillance from businesses in the area and continues to follow up on tips about different sightings.

Investigators traced the phones’ path, finding the devices went to two salvage yards – one about 5 miles from the river, and the other about 10 to 12 miles from the river, Prentice told CNN Saturday.

Jon said his family was shocked, outraged and filled with pain when they heard the brothers had been murdered and dismembered.

Jessica Chastain said that she reported her husband missing on the day he disappeared. She is focusing on getting justice for her husband, even though they don’t feel real.

DELPHI, Ind. — Authorities on Monday announced an arrest in the unsolved murders of two teenage girls — a drugstore worker who has been living in the same small northern Indiana community where their bodies were found after they went on a hike nearly six years ago.

The Indiana city has been haunted by the deaths of Liberty German and Abigail Williams, two girls, ever since they were killed.

The investigation is not complete, according to State Police Supt. Doug Carter. He encouraged the community to come forward with more information, and said if any other people “had any involvement in these murders in any way, that person or persons will be held accountable.”

The evidence against Allen has been temporarily sealed to protect theintegrity of their investigation, authorities said. Carter said that the final details of the arrest are not scheduled for today.

The two bodies of Libby and Abby Allen were found in their hometown of Indianapolis, July 14, 2017, in a rural area near the Monon High Bridge

The deaths of Libby and Abby were ruled a double homicide, but police have never disclosed how they died or described what evidence they gathered. A relative had dropped them off at a hiking trail near the Monon High Bridge just outside their hometown of Delphi, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northwest of Indianapolis. Their bodies were found the next day, Feb. 14, 2017, in a rugged, heavily wooded area near the trail.

The family used to have photos taken by Allen at the store where he worked in Delphi. She said that he did not charge them for the photos.

“The families knew the suspect could have been hiding in plain view and they always knew he was living right amongst us,” said Mike Patty. We were never stopped searching, because we didn’t know where he was.

A judge found probable cause to arrest Allen, who entered a not-guilty plea at his initial hearing on Friday, authorities said. “All persons arrested are presumed innocent,” Carter said.

Sheriff Bill Brooks in adjacent White County, where Allen is being held without bond, said he did not know whether Allen has an attorney. No murder case was listed Monday afternoon under his name in Indiana’s online court system.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/11/01/1133038467/indiana-drugstore-worker-held-in-2017-killings-of-teen-girls

The Case for a Hero that Never Gets Closer to the Front Line: A High-Precision, Low-Dimensional Investigation into a Young Fraud at CVS

“We haven’t closed the door on the investigation,” McLeland said when asked if authorities were investigating others. “We’re not sure what we’ll find at this point.”

Outside the CVS store, just down Main Street from the historic courthouse square where wanted posters still seek information in the murder case, Ralph Barnaby, a Delphi resident who knows the girls’ families, told The Associated Press that he’d “be more comfortable if he’s indicted.”

Within a few days of the killings, investigators released a photo of a suspect walking on an abandoned railroad bridge and a recording of a man talking about going down the hill.

Authorities released an initial sketch of the suspected killer in July of last year, and a second sketch in April of this year, based on video showing a suspect walking on the abandoned railroad bridge the girls had visited. The images and audio of the suspect came from Libby’s cellphone. Authorities hailed her as a hero for recording potentially crucial evidence before she was killed.

In December 2021, state police announced they were seeking information from people who had contact with someone who used a fictitious online profile to communicate with young girls. The profile “anthony_shots” was used on a number of social media platforms over the course of a year.

A statement from CVS said the company is “shocked and saddened to learn that one of our store employees was arrested as a suspect in these crimes. We stand ready to cooperate with the police investigation in any way we can.”

The case has been followed closely over the years by true-crime enthusiasts who have offered plenty of theories, but Carter urged people not to “subjectively interpret” the case while officers continue to gather information. “If you choose to be critical of our silence be critical of me, not the front line,” he said.

Sheryl McCollum, who has appeared on television as a cold case consultant, traveled to the news conference from Atlanta after meeting the Germans at a true-crime convention. She was impressed with the facts that the authorities held close to their vests.

“I don’t think that’s a bad thing because I think that the integrity of this case, and not telling every single thing they know, is powerful,” she said. You can mess things up if you start showing your hand. Arrest does not end the investigation. It just begins. So now is when they’re really going to go to work.”

The Iowa State Department of Criminal Investigation has no evidence to back up a claim by a woman that her father killed many people decades ago in Iowa

There is no evidence to back up a claim made by a woman that her father killed many people decades ago in Iowa and dumped their bodies there, says the Division of Criminal Investigation.

Following an investigation that involved the FBI, the DCI said in a statement on Thursday that “after exhaustive efforts, no evidence or other items of concern were recovered.”

Lucy Studey, daughter of Donald Studey, had claimed in a Newsweek article that her father had killed about 50 to 70 people and she helped dispose of the bodies in a well on his property.

Over the course of three days this week, state, local, and federal law enforcement assisted with the investigation in Fremont County. According to the DCI, authorities brought in “an array of experts representing several disciplines and significant assets to excavate, collect and examine soil samples” from the site identified by Studey.

However, according to Mitch Mortvedt, DCI’s assistant director, the excavation and soil samples did not uncover “evidence or other items of concern” to support Studey’s claim.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/09/us/thurman-iowa-serial-killer-investigation/index.html

Fred Bandy, John Wayne Lehman, and Laurel Jean Mitchell are charged with one count of murder in connection with the 1975 death of a teen

“My father was not the man she makes him out to be,” she told Newsweek. He loved his children and was strict, but he was also protective. Strict fathers don’t just turn into serial killers … I am two years older than Lucy. I think I would know if my father murdered.”

Aistrope had said that a woman came forward and told them about bodies in a well. “We did bring a couple cadaver dogs” that picked up a scent.

Fred Bandy Jr., 67, of Goshen, and John Wayne Lehman, 67, of Auburn, have each been charged with one count of murder in connection with the death of Laurel Jean Mitchell, the Indiana State Police said in a news release Tuesday.

Mitchell’s parents reported her missing on August 6, 1975, when she didn’t return home after leaving her job at the Epworth Forrest Church camp around 10:00 p.m., police said. The body of the teen was found in western Noble County, which is 17 miles from her home.

The cause of death was listed as drowned, but the autopsy report showed she had fought for her life, leading to a homicide investigation.

The two suspects are currently being held without bond at the Noble County Jail, the release said. Both men had an initial court hearing and will be assigned a public defender, James Abbs, the Chief Public Defender of Noble County, told CNN in a statement.

The case of Mitchell’s murder: Investigation of a long road to recovery and death, and the final result, according to Smith of the Indiana State Police

“It was just such a waste,” Mitchell’s sister, Sarah Knisley, told CNN affiliate WPTA. “I just always wondered, you know, how she would have turned out. She missed out on things like prom, graduation, getting married, and having kids.

According to Kevin Smith of the Indiana State Police, the case is a culmination of decades long investigation. Indiana State Police Laboratory Division was very involved in the filing of charges. We simply could not have solved this case without them.”

Genetic genealogy, which combines DNA evidence and traditional genealogy to find biological connections among people, has “changed the game” for police investigations in recent years, Smith said during a news conference this week.

The first detectives assigned to the case spent thousands of hours trying to solve Mitchell’s murder, state police said, and the investigation continued over the next five decades while her family waited for answers.

“I hope this brings them at least a little peace at this point,” Smith said of Mitchell’s family. I can’t remember the last time I dealt with that for 47 years.