Anthony Castleman: Man arrested for fatally stabbing grandmother and hiding her body under carpet

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.

HUNTINGTON COUNTY, INDIANA: A man who allegedly stabbed his grandmother, Bernice D Eubank, to death and hid her body under a carpet and several pieces of lattice in the backyard of her Indiana home, has been arrested after about six weeks on the run, as per authorities. 

Huntington County Sheriff Chris Newton announced that the US Marshals arrested 37-year-old Anthony Castleman in Georgia, but did not provide further details.

Castleman was living with his grandmother

At around 6 pm on November 12, deputies from the sheriff’s office found Eubank stabbed to death at her home near the town of Markle, about 30 miles south of Fort Wayne. Her family called deputies after they hadn't heard from her 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.

Local affiliate WTPA reported that Castleman had been residing with his grandmother, citing an arrest report. When Eubank's daughter visited the house, she saw a rug with a section ripped out. Her mother's body was discovered outside, close to a barn, beneath a carpet and lattice, after she called the deputies.

Her death was ruled a homicide by the Huntington County Coroner, who also concluded that she had several sharp force injuries. Detectives saw Castleman as the suspect right away.

What did investigation reveal?

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. 

According to the police, he was using her mobile when he got to the cousin's house in Eubank's car. Castleman was the target of a manhunt before he left the region. The agency sent a press release, as per Law and Crime,  saying, "Throughout the early part of the investigation, officers learned that he had fled Huntington County and trying to get out of the state."

The Huntington City police, Indiana State Police and the US 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 November 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 Eubank's obituary, she graduated from Wabash High School in 1969 and later worked for more than 30 years at the Caylor-Nickel Clinic as a receptionist.