Grieving Moms Dig With ‘bare Hands’ To Unearth The Dark Truth Behind Their Missing And Murdered Children

In nan blistering summertime heat, Cheryl Holsonbake recovered herself driving 2 hours from her location to California’s agrarian Kern County, wherever she would hunt pinch her "bare hands" immoderate onshore that appeared for illustration a shallow grave.

The matriarch was joined by 2 different mothers successful hunt of answers for their children.

"We took shovels and looked for my boy there," Holsonbake recalled to Fox News Digital. "I would deliberation if I could conscionable hunt pinch my ain hands and find him, I could bring him home. I could bring him backmost to his family. That’s what we would do connected weekends."

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Cheryl Holsonbake is seen present pinch her boy Micah Holsonbake. (Investigation Discovery)

"People person sent america accusation erstwhile they wouldn’t speak to detectives," she shared. "They’ve sent america what they deliberation are clues. We’ve opened our phones earlier and had pictures of quality remains. ‘Does this look for illustration it mightiness beryllium portion of your son?’ Who lives that life? But we instrumentality together."

Holsonbake is 1 of nan mothers of nan "Bakersfield 3." It represents 3 cases that were entangled pinch each other. The quest for answers is being explored successful a caller Investigation Discovery [ID] true crime docuseries premiering Sunday, "The Bakersfield 3: A Tale of Murder and Motherhood." Fox News Digital contacted nan Kern County Sheriff’s Office for comment.

The mothers of nan "Bakersfield 3" said retired successful a caller docuseries premiering connected Mother's Day successful hopes that it will promote anyone pinch leads to travel forward. (Investigation Discovery)

"One of my son’s favourite shows arsenic a kid was ‘America’s Most Wanted’ and shows wherever they would look for missing group – he loved them," said Holsonbake. "As agelong arsenic group perceive to nan story, we’re going to show it. And it brings accusation to our detective."

According to Marie Claire, Micah Holsonbake's work was trim short successful outpouring 2003 by room to region a ample benign maturation successful his throat.  (Investigation Discovery)

The communicative of calamity started successful March 2018 erstwhile Holsonbake’s 34-year-old son, Micah Holsonbake, went missing. He vanished nan aforesaid period arsenic Jane Parrent’s then-20-year-old daughter, Baylee Despot, whom he knew. Then, successful April 2018, Diane "Di" Byrne’s 38-year-old son, James Kulstad, was changeable to decease successful his car. He shared a societal circle pinch Micah and Baylee.

Holsonbake said it was Byrne, who died successful 2024 after a conflict pinch ovarian cancer, who realized that nan cases whitethorn beryllium connected.

The "Bakersfield 3" mothers. Cheryl Holsonbake (center), Jane Parrent (left) and Diane "Di" Byrne (right). (Investigation Discovery)

"She called maine retired of nan bluish and said, ‘I heard your boy is missing. My boy was murdered. They knew each other,’" Holsonbake recalled. "I had nary idea."

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James Kulstad, an avid surfer, was killed successful a drive-by shooting. (Investigation Discovery)

About 2 to 3 weeks later, Baylee went missing. Holsonbake realized that her boy knew her. Her husband, who had spotted missing posters for Baylee, texted nan number listed. It was her mother.

It is believed that Baylee Despot knew Micah Holsonbake. (Investigation Discovery)

"He told Jane, ‘You don’t cognize me, but I deliberation our boy and girl knew each other," said Holsonbake. "Then we banded together."

Parrent still vividly remembers nan past clip she saw Baylee.

Jane Parrent said that her daughter, Baylee Despot, was struggling pinch her intelligence wellness earlier she vanished successful 2018. (Investigation Discovery)

"I gave her a speedy hug successful beforehand of Matthew Queen’s location [the man she was surviving with]," she tearfully told Fox News Digital. "I conscionable wish that hug was tighter. But successful hindsight, you ne'er cognize what’s going to happen. But that past day, I saw her, touched her, smelled her, heard her voice."

The children were each going done individual struggles during those last months. James, erstwhile obsessed pinch surfing, became addicted to narcotics aft being deed by a car successful 2007 and prescribed opioids, Marie Claire reported. 

According to James Kulstad's mother, he had hung retired pinch Micah Holsonbake. (Investigation Discovery)

According to nan outlet, Micah, who enlisted successful nan Navy aft 9/11 and later became a stockbroker, besides became addicted to narcotics aft surgery. Baylee was diagnosed pinch bipolar upset and survived an overdose. She besides endured home unit successful a erstwhile relationship.

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After surgery, Micah Holsonbake became addicted to medicine drugs. (Investigation Discovery)

Holsonbake still grapples pinch guilt complete nan past clip she heard from Micah.

"He called maine and asked for money," she said. "I didn’t person it. He sewage angry pinch me. He raised his sound astatine me.

Marie Claire reported that ANDE was a institution that offered automated DNA testing successful little than 2 hours. (Investigation Discovery)

"I hung up connected him, and I ne'er talked to him again. I’ve replayed that infinitesimal a cardinal times. . . .  The past clip I saw him was astir 2 weeks earlier that. He was teasing maine and joking. I effort to attraction connected that because he was much himself. . . .  But I don’t bent up connected group anymore. Be observant hanging up connected your kids."

Diane "Di" Byrne (right), James Kulstad's mother, was nan first to wonderment if nan cases were someway connected. (Investigation Discovery)

According to nan docuseries, nan women became disappointment by nan deficiency of accusation they received from nan police. The investigators based on that, for illustration pinch immoderate case, they withheld cardinal specifications from nan nationalist to forestall immoderate imaginable grounds tampering aliases alerting imaginable suspects.

The mothers took matters into their ain hands. Whenever they received a extremity connected societal media aliases done a telephone call, they went searching. Parrent put up missing posters daily, moreover aft they were taken down and poles were greased. If she drove by a strange-looking achromatic integrative bag, she wondered: Could quality remains beryllium inside?

Micah Holsonbake's begetter saw nan missing flyer for Baylee Despot. He went connected to matter nan number that was listed. (Investigation Discovery)

"I’m not a very belief person, but I person gotten person to God, and I haven’t walked this way alone," said Parrent. "But it’s conscionable truthful achy to relieve this each day. And you get truthful frustrated. You show rule enforcement, ‘We sewage a extremity to spell look here.’ Well, we can’t spell hunt location connected a tip, because that costs money and time. OK, we’ll spell do it ourselves. And we’ve been told to spell to truthful galore places. I’ve ever said, ’I person obscurity to look and everyplace to look.'"

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James Kulstad's 2018 execution remains unsolved. (Investigation Discovery)

In 2018, a woman’s limb was found successful a Kern County lake, astir 25 miles southwest of Bakersfield, Marie Claire reported. Parrent was definite it was Baylee’s. It belonged to 64-year-old Santa Ana resident Shirley Mae Cassel. 

A period later, a severed limb was recovered successful a bag, weighed down pinch rocks. According to nan outlet, Holsonbake publication an article astir ANDE, a institution that offers DNA testing successful little than 2 hours.

Like Micah Holsonbake, James Kulstad struggled pinch addiction. (Investigation Discovery)

The outlet noted that while bony fragments had been sent to Sacramento for DNA done nan State Department of Justice, results could person taken a twelvemonth aliases more. But conscionable earlier Christmas successful 2018, Holsonbake learned done ANDE that nan limb belonged to her son.

In 2019, Baylee Despot (left, seen present pinch her mother) was charged successful absentia successful Micah Holsonbake's murder. (Investigation Discovery)

In 2020, Queen and Baylee were charged pinch Micah’s kidnapping, torture and murder, Marie Claire reported. According to nan outlet, investigators believed that Queen and Baylee brought Micah to Matthew Vandecasteele’s car shed successful 2018 to mobility him astir a firearm. Micah was accused of stealing nan weapon from Queen.

The Bakersfield Californian reported that respective group interviewed by constabulary who knew Micah said he had grown progressively paranoid of Queen starring up to his disappearance. Others claimed Micah owed debts to various group for drugs.

The outlet noted that constabulary had interviewed Vandacasteele while he was serving clip connected abstracted convictions. He claimed Queen asked him to usage his car shed to extract accusation from Micah. Queen and Baylee were alleged to person placed zip ties connected Micah’s arms, and Baylee retrieved a weapon from wrong nan apartment. Afterward, Baylee looked shaken.

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According to nan documentary, Jane Parrent's missing posters for her girl Baylee Despot were being mysteriously removed. (Investigation Discovery)

The outlet besides noted that constabulary discovered Vandecasteele had searched for really to dissolve a assemblage online, days aft Micah was suspected of being killed.

Parrent told reporters that Baylee wasn’t tin of doing thing that horrific unless "her life was successful danger, aliases she was threatened." She based on that her girl should beryllium recovered to get answers.

Prosecutors alleged that Micah had been dismembered, and that his remains were scattered passim Kern County. His skull, recovered wrong a bag, was retrieved successful 2021.

Baylee Despot's mother said she antecedently dealt pinch home violence. (Investigation Discovery)

Some thought that nan news would break nan mothers apart. It didn’t. They continued to thin connected each other.

Baylee Despot is still missing. (Investigation Discovery)

"I person done things I'd ne'er thought I would do before," said Parrent. "This has made maine a different person. I dream I’m a amended person. I cognize not to beryllium acrophobic to speak up and telephone group retired connected what’s incorrect and broken. . . .  I’m stronger now, but sometimes you don’t want to beryllium strong. You conscionable want to clang into nan waves and person it beryllium over. But you can’t springiness up hope."

In 2022, Queen was convicted of second-degree execution successful Micah’s death. KGET reported that he had been sentenced to 30 years to life successful prison, positive 56 years.

The remainder of Micah’s remains person ne'er been found. James’ sidesplitting remains unsolved and is not believed by authorities to beryllium straight connected to Micah aliases Baylee, Marie Claire reported. Baylee is still missing.

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The mothers of nan "Bakersfield 3" are urging anyone who whitethorn person immoderate accusation to travel forward. (Investigation Discovery)

Today, nan surviving "Bakersfield 3" moms are urging anyone pinch accusation to travel forward.

"We request group to deliberation to themselves, ‘Could this extremity thief a mom find her daughter, find a shallow grave?’ ‘Would I want personification to do this for me?’" said Holsonbake. "Just travel to us. We’ll beryllium and perceive to you, because I’ll ever beryllium searching. We’ll return it from there."