The afternoon sun beat down on the Dollar General parking lot in Fruitland Park, Florida, a seemingly ordinary scene shattered by unimaginable violence. Cheyenne Kastens, 36, went about her day unaware she was about to become the victim of a brutal, unprovoked attack.
Lemar Beasley, 54, ambushed Kastens, unleashing a horrific assault with a knife. Witnesses would later recount a scene of relentless violence, the sheer number of wounds – over forty – a testament to the savagery of the act. Kastens had no connection to her attacker; their paths had never crossed before that fateful day.
Beasley didn’t simply attack; he hunted. After the relentless stabbing, he fled the scene, seeking refuge in a nearby camper, leaving Kastens to succumb to her injuries. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office quickly launched a manhunt, determined to bring the perpetrator to justice.
A grand jury swiftly indicted Beasley on charges of capital murder, recognizing the gravity of the crime. The state attorney is now seeking the ultimate punishment: the death penalty. This isn’t a case of impulsive rage, but a calculated act by a man with a deeply disturbing history.
Beasley’s release from prison just five months prior to the murder is a chilling detail. He is a convicted sex offender, a violent career criminal whose pattern of attacks stretches back decades. His freedom, it appears, came at a devastating cost.
Investigators admit they are still piecing together a motive, struggling to understand the intent behind such senseless brutality. Captain Chris Stallings stated they have theories, but the core question – why? – remains hauntingly unanswered.
The past reveals a disturbing pattern. In 1999, Beasley was sentenced to fifteen years for rape and false imprisonment, a case marked by brutal violence where a woman was beaten and choked before being assaulted. The echoes of that crime reverberate through this current tragedy.
Even earlier, in 1991, Beasley served time for attempted murder and armed burglary. More recently, in 2021, detectives investigated him as a person of interest in the disappearance and subsequent discovery of Nyeisha Nelson’s remains in a shallow grave.
The case of Cheyenne Kastens is not simply a single act of violence, but a culmination of years of predatory behavior. It’s a stark reminder of the potential consequences when a dangerous individual is released back into society, and a tragedy that has left a community reeling in shock and grief.