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The Bakersfield 3 refers to three interconnected cases of Micah Holsonbake, James Kulstad, and Baylee Despot, also known as Baylee Cheyanne Parrent, three adults who went missing or were killed within a short period in Bakersfield, California. The cases gained popularity when the mothers of the three victims united and spared no effort in finding answers and justice for their children.
According to James' mum, Di, she first knew that the tragic incidents involving their children were connected when it was uncovered that the three victims had the same circle of friends.
“We just knew — our mama gut and instinct told us that something wasn't quite right,” she said.
“Early on, we realized that all the names we were getting, when we were reaching out to our adult children’s friends, a lot of the names were the same names. So, we knew that there was this big circle of acquaintances, and we needed to connect the dots. And we still have a lot of dots to connect,” she added.
After coming together, the three mums joined their resources, compared notes, uncovered clues, and followed leads so that they could answer the questions of where Baylee is, who killed Micah, and who killed James.
While Micah’s question seems to be answered, Baylee and James' cases remain unsolved.
In 2019, the three moms founded the Bakersfield 3 Charity, a nonprofit organization that helps families search for missing children and aids in solving crimes in Kern County.
In April 2024, James' mum, Di, passed away. Baylee’s mum revealed that she promised Di on her deathbed that she “wouldn’t stop fighting for justice for James.”
Even after seven years, Micah and Baylee’s mums continue to seek answers to their children’s death and disappearance.
More details on the Bakersfield 3
The beginning of the Bakersfield 3 incident started on March 23, 2018, when 34-year-old Micah Holsonbake was last seen, shortly after he was reported missing. After months of searching, Micah’s body parts were discovered in different locations of Kern County in August 2018.
After that, Micah‘s case was treated as a homicide, and after investigations, Matthew Queen, Baylee’s ex-boyfriend, was arrested and sentenced to 30 years plus 56 years in prison in June 2022.
A few weeks after Micah went missing, 38-year-old James Kulstad was shot and killed in a driveway in South Bakersfield on April 8, 2018, and a few days after 20-year-old Baylee Despot went missing. She was last seen on April 24, 2018.
James' murder and Baylee’s disappearance remain unsolved to date, and despite her disappearance, Baylee was charged in May 2020, due to a connection with Micah’s murder.
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This unsolved story is the subject of a new Investigation Discovery true crime docuseries, The Bakersfield 3: A Tale of Murder and Motherhood (based on Marie Claire’s 2022 feature "Of Murder and Motherhood"). It debuted on Max on May 11, 2025.
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