Putnam County, FL – A Crescent City man is facing a first-degree murder charge after a woman was fatally stabbed outside a Dollar General in Fruitland Friday afternoon, according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies say Lemar Beasley, 54, allegedly attacked Cheyenne Kastens, 36, while she was outside near her car. Witnesses reported no prior interaction between the two, and investigators say there appears to be no known connection between them. Paramedics performed CPR at the scene before Kastens was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
According to the sheriff’s office, Beasley fled after the attack, prompting a 24-hour multi-agency manhunt that included the Volusia Sheriff’s Office. Detectives later located him in a camper on property along Huntington Shortcut Road in Putnam County. A knife believed to have been used in the stabbing was recovered nearby.
Sheriff H.D. “Gator” DeLoach expressed condolences to the victim’s family, calling the suspect “a refuse of human garbage” and vowing to ensure he “spends the rest of his life confined in a cell.”
Authorities confirmed Beasley is a convicted registered sex offender with a criminal record dating to 1991. He had been released from prison in July after serving five years for failing to comply with sex offender registration requirements.
Beasley is now charged with first-degree premeditated murder, a capital felony.
This article was produced by a journalist and may include AI-assisted input. All content is reviewed for accuracy and fairness.
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