Teen who killed Lene’a Brown pleads guilty to 2nd-degree murder; faces 20 years

CASPER, Wyo. — A Casper teenager pleaded guilty on Friday to killing his ex-girlfriend Lene’a Brown earlier this year and faces a prison sentence of at least 20 years.

Eavan Castaner, born in 2007, entered his plea to second-degree murder and misdemeanor stalking before Natrona County District Court Judge Daniel Forgey.

Second-degree murder is punishable by 20 years’ to life imprisonment. The misdemeanor stalking count, punishable by up to six months in jail, will be served concurrently with the prison sentence, Natrona County District Attorney Dan Itzen said.

Itzen said a recent change in the law allows for people sentenced to second-degree murder to apply for parole after they have served 25 years’ imprisonment.

During the plea, Castaner’s attorney, Ryan Semerad, guided him through the elements of the case.

After accepting the guilty plea, Forgey ordered a presentence investigation.

A sentencing date was not set.

In October, Castaner stated his intention to plead guilty and withdrew his request to have the case tried in juvenile court. He had pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and misdemeanor stalking on June 17.

The case started about 12:36 p.m. Tuesday, May 14 when Casper police officers and Natrona County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a shooting at Buckboard Park, 6461 Buckboard Road, in west Casper.

The victim, 17-year-old Lene’a Brown, was found lying in the street with a gunshot wound to her head. She was declared dead at Banner-Wyoming Medical Center. One of the callers identified Castaner as the shooter, according to the affidavit accompanying the charging documents.

At Castaner’s preliminary hearing in Natrona County Circuit Court on May 23, Semerad urged the state to reconsider the first-degree charges, saying Castaner’s actions on May 14 were “perhaps impulsive and hastily executed” and not the product of cold consideration.

The Casper Police Department investigation revealed numerous taunting and violent messages from Castaner to Brown in the month leading up to the shooting. They had broken up in mid-April after dating for about a year, the police report said. Brown had shared some of the messages with family members, one of whom contacted Castaner to set up the meeting at Buckboard Park off Robertson Road. He accompanied Brown to the meeting and carried a baseball bat, telling police he backed away when he saw Castaner had a gun.

One witness said Brown and Castaner continued to approach each other in the street and “appeared to shove each other” right before the gunshot happened.

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

Castaner’s friend and girlfriend reportedly tried to physically restrain him from going to the meeting. They both said Castaner had grown increasingly agitated the night of the shooting, texting with Brown and making homicidal statements as an unknown third party began messaging him about his harassing messages and arranging to meet.

Police learned that the victim and her cousin had also been accompanied by two 18-year-old males, one of whom lingered with a gun nearby and fired twice after Castaner ran.