CASPER — Anger over a broken relationship, text messages and a confrontation in a southwest city park all allegedly led up to the shooting death of a 17-year-old Casper girl early Tuesday, according to court documents released Thursday.
A police affidavit filed in Casper Circuit Court states that Eavan Castaner, 17, allegedly went to Buckboard Park in the 6300 block of Buckboard Road shortly after midnight with a Glock 9 mm pistol he had taken from his mother’s home three days before.
There, he allegedly shot Lenea Brown in the face, the affidavit says.
Castaner, who's been charged with first-degree murder, reportedly told police that he and Brown had been in a relationship that ended April 18 and he was beginning a new relationship, but that he and Brown still continued to text back and forth with “crap talk” toward one another, the affidavit states.
The affidavit goes on to say that the pair had sent Snapchat messages back and forth two hours before the shooting. Castaner allegedly wrote: “Ur a bitch I hope u die slowly Im go an celebrate when you die.” Brown responded: “Get tf of my phone bro she’s better? Then quit f***ing texting me bro.”
The text messages led to Brown’s cousin communicating with Castaner to leave Brown alone, then escalated to where Castaner wanted to fight, and Brown’s cousin agreed to meet him at the park.
‘I Have To Release My Anger’
A friend of Castaner’s identified as “RS” in court documents received messages from Castaner around midnight stating, “I’m actually about to kill someone (R). Like seriously, I am.”
The friend “attempted to rationalize with Eavan and have Eavan think through what he was saying,” the affidavit states. The friend “pointed out that (he) was going to shoot someone over (Brown) to which Eavan messaged, ‘Not over (Brown) I just want to kill someone I have to release my anger.’
“(The friend) told Eavan that was not going to let this happen, to which Eavan replied, ‘I am for sure I am killing dude.”
The affidavit states that the friend allegedly went to the park to try and stop Castaner and at one point took him to the ground and felt what he believed to be a gun in the front waistband of Castaner’s pants. At that point, the friend saw people walking from a white van toward them, and one had a baseball bat.
The friend reportedly called out to those walking toward the park that Castaner had a weapon, the affidavit states. He then allegedly got in his car, witnessed the incident, and drove home. There, he got a message from Castaner saying, “she’s dead.”
The friend told police that he believed Castaner was referring to Brown.
An interview with Brown’s cousin allegedly revealed that Castaner had sent him a video of a gun prior to the park confrontation, and he asked Brown if Castaner possessed a weapon, and she told him he didn’t, the affidavit states.
The cousin said he took a bat to the meeting in case there were others with Castaner, but that he never raised it, the affidavit says. He said he intended to fight Castaner with his fists. Brown and the cousin were taken to the park by two friends, who stayed back behind a tree as the cousin and Brown approached Castaner.
Racking Round Into Chamber
As the pair approached, the cousin told police Castaner allegedly racked a bullet into the chamber of the pistol, the affidavit states.
The cousin “advised he did not raise or swing the bat at anytime,” the affidavit states. “(Brown) continued toward Eavan and appeared to raise a fist to ‘swing on’ Eavan. Eavan then shot (Brown) in the face and (she) fell to the ground.”
Another in the group with Brown allegedly took out a pistol and fired two shots toward Castaner as he ran away, the affidavit states. The friend who fired the shot is identified in court documents as Charles. He said he pulled out his pistol after he heard the round being chambered in Castaner’s weapon and was worried Castaner was going to come back and shoot them, so he fired the shots.
The affidavit states Charles went to Brown and checked her pulse, spoke with 911 dispatch and remained near her until police arrived at the scene. Police were dispatched at 12:36 a.m.
Brown was taken to Banner Wyoming Medical Center, where she died shortly thereafter, the affidavit states.
Wanted To Kill Someone
An interview with a female who identified herself as someone “talking” to Castaner said he had been staying at her house and on Monday, he arrived around 10 p.m. saying he wanted to kill someone.
She said he started texting someone, became angry and that Castaner had called his friend. Both of them tried to convince Castaner not to go to the park. She said he then “popped” her knee as she tried to physically restrain him from leaving, the affidavit states.
At the park, Castaner allegedly called the female and the pair were talking when she heard gunshots, the “first sounding like it came from closer to the phone” and the others “sounding like they were far away,” the affidavit says. Castaner hung up, and when called him back he was “freaking out.”
After the shooting, Castaner allegedly returned to her residence, told her they started shooting at him and he shot back and that he “thought he shot (Brown) in the face,” the affidavit states. She told Castaner that she didn’t believe him.
Castaner’s Account
When interviewed by police, Castaner allegedly told them that at the park as Brown and her cousin approached, that he saw Brown and an unidentifed male carrying a baseball bat. He said he drew the pistol as he and Brown approached each other and she appeared to be about to punch him when he shot one round at her from about 3 to 4 feet away, the affidavit states.
He said he then ran, heard two shots and hid next to a house, where he called his female friend and then returned to her house, the affidavit says he told police. At the house, he allegedly unloaded the pistol and put it in his backpack. When police arrived, he put it in the dresser drawer.
The affidavit states that Castaner then walked outside the house to surrender to police.
During his interview, the affidavit states that Castaner had also been to his father’s house earlier in the evening where he “took a single large drink” of vodka and topped it off with water.
The police investigation showed that Brown had messaged Castaner’s mother about 11:12 p.m. Monday with a screenshot of Castaner’s messages stating, “That’s Eavan” and “And he keeps calling me.”
The investigation also allegedly uncovered several phone calls on Brown’s cellphone with messages that appeared to come from Castaner. Eight were May 13 prior to her death and matched a number associated with Castaner. The investigaton found five different phone numbers from April 15 to May 13 on Brown’s phone and “the conversations appeared generally similar in content,” the affidavit states.
Castaner appeared in Casper Circuit Court to be charged with first-degree murder and stalking Wednesday. He remains in the Casper juvenile detention center on a $1 million cash bond.
The first-degree murder charge carries the potential for a life prison term and the stalking charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of not more than $750.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
