Putnam County deputies are asking for the public’s help identifying two juveniles who may have seen the brutal stabbing that left 36-year-old Cheyenne Kastens dead outside a Dollar General in Fruitland on Nov. 14.
The boys — one estimated to be around 10 to 12 years old and the other roughly 14 to 16 — were in the parking lot around the time of the attack one week ago, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Detectives emphasized the ages are approximate and based on height and build of the minors. Both are believed to live close enough to the store that they may have walked there.
“They are not in any trouble,” the agency said, noting they may have information relevant to the case.
Kastens, of Georgetown, was attacked near her car in what investigators say appears to have been a random assault.
Deputies said she and the suspect, 54-year-old Lemar Beasley of Crescent City, were inside the store earlier that day, but there was no indication they interacted.
Deputies performed CPR before Kastens was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Beasley fled, sparking a 24-hour manhunt involving multiple agencies. A knife believed to have been used in the stabbing was recovered nearby. Detectives located Beasley the next afternoon inside a camper on Huntington Shortcut Road, where he had been living.
He is charged with first-degree premeditated murder.
Sheriff H.D. “Gator” DeLoach pledged that his office will pursue the maximum penalty allowed by law.
Kastens’ family has launched a fundraiser to help with funeral expenses, remembering her as a kind, adventurous woman who “brought joy to every room she walked into.”
