Three Bakersfield Men Arrested in Triple Slaying

A 19-year-old Bakersfield man was arrested in National City on Sunday, along with two alleged accomplices, on suspicion of killing his parents and a half brother.

Scott Kammeyer, 19, Billy Wayne Smith, 18, and Joel Henry, 19, all of Bakersfield, were arrested on suspicion of homicide, the Kern County Sheriff’s Department said.

The bodies of Kammeyer’s father, John Jerome Kammeyer Sr., 51; his mother, Alana Jean Kammeyer, 47, and his half brother, John Allen Kammeyer, 22, were found in their home late Saturday afternoon, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Alberta Dougherty.

The three suspects were arrested at a home in National City about 2 p.m. Sunday after they were seen near a car owned by Kammeyer’s father.

The suspects allegedly traveled to National City in the car after the slayings. Deputies declined to release any details of the slayings, refusing to say whether any weapons had been recovered.

Scott Kammeyer, who lived with his parents, had a history of problems in school and was known for his short temper, according to friends of the family.

“I don’t know if he pulled the trigger. But it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he did,” said Lois Peterson, 48, of Harbor City, who identified herself as John Kammeyer’s former wife.

“There were always problems with Scott,” Peterson said. “He was always having problems with work and school. . . . He had some terrible arguments with his father and half brother.”

According to Peterson, deputies initially questioned her son, John Jerome Kammeyer Jr., 28, a firefighter in Sunnyvale, in the investigation.

“They wouldn’t tell him anything about the case,” Peterson said. “They wouldn’t even tell him his father was killed.”

Deputies declined to comment on Peterson’s statements.