State Supreme Court Upholds 42- to 75-Year Sentence for Casper Teen Who Killed Ex-Girlfriend

The Wyoming Supreme Court has affirmed the 42- to 75-year prison sentence for Eavan Castaner, who was 15 years old when he shot and killed his ex-girlfriend, Lene’a Brown, in Casper on May 14, 2024.

Natrona County District Court Judge Dan Forgey imposed the sentence in April 2025 after Castaner pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. The state had initially charged first-degree murder but offered the plea deal.

Castaner’s attorney, Ryan Semerad, argued on appeal that any sentence exceeding 25 years before parole eligibility would violate the Wyoming Constitution. He cited a 2013 amendment requiring that juvenile offenders sentenced to life imprisonment be eligible for parole after 25 years, and argued that effectively set a maximum standard for any juvenile homicide sentence.

The Supreme Court rejected that argument, ruling that because Castaner received a term-of-years sentence rather than a life sentence, the 2013 amendment did not apply. “To apply the statute to a juvenile homicide offender who received a term of years sentence, we would have to ignore the plain language of the statute,” the court wrote.

The court also found the sentence did not constitute “cruel or unusual punishment” given the gravity of the crime.

Semerad said the ruling exposes a legal blind spot that undermines legislative intent. “The Wyoming Supreme Court has allowed courts to sentence kids convicted of second-degree murder to years or decades longer than kids convicted of first-degree murder,” he said.

The state had argued a different standard applied, citing a 2014 ruling that an unconstitutional life sentence for a juvenile would only arise if the bottom number exceeded 45 years.