Authorities in Florida arrested a 54-year-old man who stabbed a woman to death in a Dollar General parking lot for no apparent reason.
Lemar Beasley is accused of first-degree murder in the death of Cheyenne Kastens, 36, according to a Facebook post by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said Beasley and Kastens were both in the Dollar General in Crescent City on Friday afternoon but did not appear to interact inside the shop, and they did not know each other prior. Kastens was near her car when Beasley allegedly assaulted her with a knife and stabbed her several times.
Cops came on the scene and performed CPR until paramedics transported her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. After the attack, Beasley escaped, sparking a 24-hour manhunt, authorities reported. Detectives recognized Beasley as the culprit and arrested him in the trailer he was residing in on Huntington Shortcut Road, roughly 7 miles from the Dollar General.
A knife that may have been used in the attack was recovered. Beasley has a “extensive criminal history” going back three decades. He is also a registered sex offender who was recently released from jail in July after serving time for failing to register.
“Our prayers and deepest condolences are with the family and friends of Cheyenne Kastens,” Sheriff H.D. “Gator” DeLoach stated in a statement. “While I cannot take away their pain and sorrow as they grieve the loss of a loved one, I promise her family and our south Putnam community that we will do everything possible to ensure that this refuse of human garbage spends the rest of his life confined in a cell away from society and dies in prison.” There is no cause for someone to die simply for going about their daily routine.”
