Suspect in murder of his ex-girlfriend requests trial in juvenile court

CASPER, Wyoming – A Casper teenager accused of shooting his ex-girlfriend in May has asked Natrona County District Court to transfer his case to juvenile court.

Eavan Castaner, born in 2007, is accused of first-degree murder and the stalking attack on 17-year-old Lene'a Brown on May 14.

Unless Castaner is found guilty or pleads guilty, he will be deemed innocent.

Castaner pleaded not guilty before District Judge Dan Forgey on June 17. Defense attorney Ryan Semerad said they may then request that the case be transferred to juvenile court.

According to district court records, that motion was filed on July 31.

Eames will hear the motion on October 22.

At Castaner's preliminary hearing in district court in June, Semerad urged the state to reconsider the premeditated murder charge, saying Castaner's actions on May 14 “may have been impulsive and hastily executed” and not the result of sober deliberation.

He added that the meeting had been arranged for the night of the fatal encounter between Castaner and an unknown man who had accompanied Lene'a Brown.

The Casper police investigation found that Castaner had sent numerous taunting and violent messages to Brown in the month before the shooting. They had broken up in mid-April after dating for about a year, the police report said. Brown had passed some of the messages on to family members, one of whom contacted Castaner to arrange the meeting at Buckboard Park on Robertson Road. He accompanied Brown to the meeting and carried a baseball bat. He told police he backed away when he saw Castaner had a gun.

The investigation uncovered messages from Castaner to Brown, including, “I hope you die in the most painful way possible.”

Castaner's boyfriend and girlfriend reportedly tried to physically stop him from going to the meeting. They said Castaner became increasingly agitated the night of the shooting, texting and making murderous advances with Brown when an unknown third person began messaging him about his harassing messages and arranging a meeting.

Police learned that the victim and her cousin were also accompanied by two 18-year-old men, one of whom remained nearby with a gun and fired twice after Castaner ran away.

According to police, Castaner did not mention seeing these other people, but Semerad highlighted them as part of the overall situation his client had placed himself in during a period of acute emotional stress. There was also evidence that Castaner had been drinking alcohol.

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