Wife of man murdered speaks out after remains of 4 missing Okmulgee men found in river

ByAbigail Dye, KOKI
Sunday, October 23, 2022
Wife of missing murdered man speaks out after remains of 4 Okmulgee men found in river
The wife of Mark Chastain said she is struggling on how to explain to her 2 young children that their dad isn't coming home.

OKMULGEE, Okla. -- A grieving Oklahoma woman is trying to explain to her two children why their dad isn't coming home.

Jessica Chastain is speaking out for the first time since Okmulgee police confirmed her missing husband's body was among the remains found in a river on last Friday.

Jessica is still accepting that her husband Mark isn't coming home.

RELATED: 4 friends shot dead, dismembered, thrown in river; person of interest found

"It just feels like he's still in my garage, if that makes sense. Or he's still out here. Or... something. He's just here. It doesn't feel like he's gone," she said.

She said she is struggling with how to explain that to her toddler Gracie and 4-year-old Tucker.

"We told him that daddy had to go help Pop Pop Billy fix a car. Jesus needed him and he called him to go fix the car," Jessica said. "He asked, 'Well, can we go there?' And I'm like, 'No, there's not a road.'"

The road that got them here is one this family and three others never expected to go down in quiet Okmulgee.

Mark Chastain was one of four men who vanished October 9. That Friday, police found human remains in the Deep Fork River, KOKI reported.

Then, on Monday, Police Chief Joe Prentice confirmed Jessica's worst fear.

"The human remains recovered from the Deep Fork River at the Sharpiro Bridge have been positively identified as Mark Chastain, Billy Chastain, Mike Sparks, and Alex Stevens. All four bodies were dismembered before being placed in the river. Each victim suffered gunshot wounds," Chief Prentice said.

"I mean, they took my kid's daddy... and my husband. Not only Mark, but they took other peoples' family," Jessica said.

Police say Joe Kennedy is a person of interest in the case, who went missing just after the remains were found.

Tuesday, police arrested him in Florida for driving a stolen vehicle.

"Eventually, the truth will come out. Eventually," Jessica said.

Now, instead of searching for Mark, Jessica misses him and searches for justice.

"We need justice for not only Mark, but for all of them," she said.