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Matthew Queen, Baylee Despot charged with murder, torture

23ABC News

By: Anthony Wright, 23ABC

Posted at 2:03 PM, May 27, 2020

and last updated 2022-04-04 18:03:21-04

Two people have been charged with multiple crimes connected to what is known as the "Bakersfield 3", including one person who has been missing for two years. According to the Kern County District Attorney's Office, Matthew Queen and Baylee Despot have been charged with murder, torture, kidnapping and conspiracy in the case of Micah Holsonbake.

Queen has faced multiple charges in the past, including kidnapping, resisting arrest, and weapons charges. Despot, who was charged with murder and torture, was last seen two years ago and is considered part of the Bakersfield 3. A third person, Matthew Tyler Vandecasteele, is charged with kidnapping and conspiracy in the case.

The DA's office said although Baylee Despot has been reported missing since 2018, there is no known physical evidence that definitively confirms her possible death.

&lt;/iframe&gt; The murder charges are part of criminal filing that includes 34 criminal charges encompassing alleged criminal conduct that ranges from December 2017 through July of 2019. In July of last year, the 42-year-old Queen was being investigated in an ongoing kidnapping case. When police contacted Queen he ran off and ended up in a part of the Kern River between Beach Park and Yokuts Park. He braced himself against a concrete pillar and due to the river&#39;s current police weren&#39;t able to go after him. He eventually surrendered and was taken into custody. Queen is reportedly connected to the Bakersfield 3 case, which involved three people who ran in the same circle of friends. James Kulstad was shot and killed, the body part of his friend, Micah Holsonbake, was found in water and Baylee Despot hasn’t been seen in more than a year. On March 23, 2018, Micah Holsonbake was reported missing, and authorities began looking into what happened to the 34-year-old. “His friends began calling us, asking us if he was with us because they hadn’t seen him,” said Cheryl Holsonbake, Micah&#39;s mother. She said she attempted to file a missing person’s report, but says, she got the run around from police. Then on April 8 of that same year, Kulstad was found shot and killed in his mother’s car in Southwest Bakersfield. There were no leads into who killed him. His mother, Diane Byrne, said she found out her son’s friend Holsonbake had gone missing. Byrne said Kulstad was helping Holsonbake move just weeks prior to the shooting and disappearance. The two mothers then spoke about similarities in their cases and began approaching investigators together. “She said, ‘something’s not right. I think our sons knew the same people.’ We started comparing notes. Sure enough, there were far too many similarities to be comfortable with that,” said Cheryl Holsonbake. A couple weeks later another disappearance came into the picture. 20-year-old Baylee Despot was reported missing by family. Her family says she was friends with Kulstad and Holsonbake. “I’m hoping my daughter is alive, but my momma heart tells me something different,” said Jane Parrent, Baylee Despot’s mother. Parrent said Despot’s social media posts had stopped, and she couldn’t reach her. “I knew something happened to her,” said Parrent. Her mother began posting fliers of Despot’s disappearance around the city. Shortly after that, Cheryl Holsonbake saw the fliers and reached out to Parrent and spoke about the cases. “My husband, Lance, said that’s related. I remember her. Micah knows her,” said Cheryl Holsonbake. The three mothers would form the group known as the Bakersfield 3. They have worked with authorities to try and find leads and answers in each case, but have yet to find out what happened in each case.

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Matthew Queen, Baylee Despot charged with murder, torture

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