The harrowing nature of a recent crime in Putnam County, Florida, has led the State Attorney’s Office to pursue the harshest penalty available. State Attorney R.J. Larizza has declared that the “brutal and merciless” killing in question warrants the death penalty.
On Thursday, it was announced that the state will seek the death penalty for Lemar Beasley, the 54-year-old suspect accused of a fatal stabbing incident. The decision comes after Beasley was indicted by a Grand Jury in early December for the first-degree murder of 36-year-old Cheyenne Kastens.
The tragic event unfolded on Friday, November 14, when Beasley allegedly launched a vicious attack on Kastens in the parking lot of a Fruitland Dollar General. The State Attorney’s Office reports that Kastens was stabbed over 40 times, and she later died from her grievous injuries at a nearby hospital. After committing the act, Beasley reportedly fled on foot but was soon discovered hiding inside a camper before being apprehended by Putnam County deputies.
In their legal filing, the State Attorney’s Office outlined four key factors they plan to establish during the proceedings against Beasley. “The defendant murdered our victim five months after his release from prison,” Larizza stated, further highlighting Beasley’s history as a convicted sex offender and a violent career criminal. The severity of these circumstances, combined with the heinous nature of the crime, underscores their pursuit of the death penalty.
In their filing, the State says that they intend to prove the following four factors in regards to Beasley:
- The defendant was previously convicted of another capital felony or of a felony involving the use or threat of violence to the person.
- The capital felony was committed while the defendant was engaged, or was an accomplice, in the commission of, or an attempt to commit, or flight after committing or attempting to commit, any: robbery; sexual battery; aggravated child abuse; abuse of an elderly person or disabled adult resulting in great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement; arson; burglary; kidnapping; aircraft piracy; or unlawful throwing, placing, or discharging of a destructive device or bomb.
- The capital felony was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel.
- The capital felony was a homicide and was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification.
“The defendant murdered our victim five months after his release from prison,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said. “He is a convicted sex offender. He is a violent career criminal. The brutal and merciless nature of this killing demands a death sentence.”
