Anthony Castleman, 37, is facing a murder charge in the death of his grandmother, Bernice Eubank, 72, who was found dead on Nov. 12, 2023, outside her home in Huntington County, Indiana. Castleman was arrested after about six weeks on the lam. (Castleman: Huntington County Sheriff’s Office; Eubank: Obituary)
The man who allegedly stabbed his grandmother to death and hid her body under some carpet and several pieces of lattice in the backyard of her Indiana home has been captured after about six weeks on the run, authorities said.
Huntington County Sheriff Chris Newton announced earlier this week that the U.S. Marshals arrested 37-year-old Anthony Castleman in Georgia, but did not provide further details.
Deputies from the sheriff’s office around 6 p.m. on Nov. 12 found Bernice D. Eubank stabbed to death at her home near the town of Markle, about 30 miles south of Fort Wayne. Her family called deputies after she hadn’t been heard from in the last several days. Investigators believe she had been dead for “a period of time” before her discovery.
“In all my years of law enforcement, this may be one of the most brutal scenes I’ve ever seen or been part of. I think it kind of shook our own folks seeing something like that, especially when you realize it’s an elderly woman and the perpetrator in this was her own grandson,” Newton told local CBS affiliate WANE.
Citing an arrest report, local affiliate WTPA said Castleman had been living with his grandmother. Eubank’s daughter went to the home and found a rug with a piece cut out. She called deputies, and they found her mother’s body outside near a barn under a carpet and lattice.
The Huntington County Coroner determined her cause of death to be from multiple sharp force injuries and the manner as a homicide. Detectives quickly identified Castleman as the suspect.
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An investigation revealed Castleman went to his cousin’s house the day before the body was found and asked for bleach to clean up a mess, saying he was “going to prison for a long time,” the documents reportedly said. He arrived at the cousin’s house in Eubank’s car and was using her cellphone, police said.
A manhunt ensued for Castleman, who fled the area.
“Throughout the early part of the investigation, officers learned that he had fled Huntington County and trying to get out of the state,” the agency said in a press release.
The Huntington City police, Indiana State Police and the U.S. Marshals were among those aiding in the search. Deputies did not give a motive for the killing. Investigators said they spoke with Castleman on the phone Nov. 12 and he allegedly told them he was in Lexington, Kentucky. Cops put up billboards featuring a wanted poster for Castleman around the state of Indiana in an effort to capture him.
According to her obituary, Eubank graduated from Wabash High School in 1969 and later worked for more than 30 years at the Caylor-Nickel Clinic as a receptionist.
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