Woman gets life sentence for killing boyfriend's mom

Lincoln Journal Star

September 22, 2014

A Guide Rock woman got a life sentence Monday for killing her boyfriend's 68-year-old mother.

Shelley Casterline, 41, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Adams County District Court in March. District Judge Stephen Illingworth sentenced her.

Prosecutors charged Casterline and her 24-year-old son, Andrew, with first-degree murder and other crimes connected to the Oct. 4 slaying of Virginia Barone at Barone's home in Guide Rock. Her body was found partially covered by boards in her home the next day. An autopsy showed she'd been stabbed twice in the back and 20 times in the chest and torso.

Barone's son, Ronald Jamilowski, was Shelley Casterline's boyfriend. Investigators had said Shelley Casterline acknowledged she killed Barone after the older woman made comments that enraged her.

At her son's trial this month, Shelley Casterline testified that her son wasn't there when she stabbed Barone. She said he did help her move the body.

But investigators believed Andrew Casterline also stabbed Barone because he had cuts on his hands that indicated he had wielded a knife.

In the end, the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony and burglary. He is set for sentencing in December and will get a mandatory life sentence for the murder charge.

The Casterlines were arrested Oct. 5 in Newton, Iowa, in a stolen Jeep.

 

Guide Rock woman makes plea deal in murder case

By Associated Press

March 21, 2014

HASTINGS — A Guide Rock woman accused of killing her boyfriend's 68-year-old mother has pleaded guilty to a reduced murder charge.

Shelley Casterline pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Wednesday in Adams County District Court. She and her 23-year-old son, Andrew, were charged with first-degree murder and other crimes connected to the Oct. 4 slaying of Virginia Barone at Barone's home in Guide Rock. Her body was found partially covered by boards in her home the next day. An autopsy showed she'd been stabbed twice in the back and 20 times in the chest and torso.

Barone's son, Ronald Jamilowski, was Shelley Casterline's live-in boyfriend. Investigators had said Shelley Casterline acknowledged she'd killed Barone after the older woman had made comments that enraged her.

Andrew Casterline told an investigator he'd been present when his mother stabbed Barone. The investigator has said he suspected Andrew Casterline also stabbed Barone because the young man had cuts on his hands that indicated he had wielded a knife.

The Casterlines were arrested Oct. 5 in Newton, Iowa. Police said the two had been traveling in a sport utility vehicle stolen in Cass County, Neb., earlier that day.

Andrew Casterline has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is scheduled to begin May 27.

 

Mother, son now charged with murder of elderly Guide Rock woman

By Lori Pilger - Lincoln Journal Star

October 25, 2013

A woman and her son have been charged with the first-degree murder of a 68-year-old Guide Rock woman, found Oct. 5 stabbed to death in her home, her body partially covered by boards.

Investigators suspect Shelley Casterline, 41, and 23-year-old Andrew Casterline killed Virginia Barone a day earlier, stabbing her 22 times, then taking off in her car. Barone's son was Shelley Casterline's live-in boyfriend.

The Casterlines were arrested the next day in Newton, Iowa, after allegedly mugging a woman in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

In court records, Nebraska State Patrol Investigator Ryan Phinney said deputies went to Barone's home after her friend reported she wasn't answering her phone. The friend had found her door open, car missing and her telephone and other possessions lying on the driveway.

When deputies went inside, they found a blood trail that led to her body, which had been partially covered by boards, according to an affidavit for the Casterlines' arrests.

An autopsy later showed she had been stabbed 22 times, twice in the back and 20 times in the chest and stomach, Phinney said in court records.

He said Barone's son, Ronald Jamilowski, told him he'd last seen his mother early Oct. 4 when she had driven him and the Casterlines to Guide Rock from Hastings. When he woke up Oct. 5, his girlfriend and her son were gone.

Turns out, Andrew Casterline had spent the night in a Cass County jail.

At about 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 4, another state trooper stopped him driving Barone's white Pontiac Grand Prix on Interstate 80 near Ashland allegedly under the influence of drugs. The car was towed and his mother, who had been with him in the car, posted his bond the next morning. They allegedly stole another vehicle, a Jeep.

By the time Iowa law enforcement personnel nabbed them that afternoon in connection to an armed robbery in a Wal-Mart parking lot, they were wanted in connection to Barone's death.

Phinney said they found two of Barone's bank cards in Andrew Casterline's possession when he was arrested. And they came to suspect he and Shelley Casterline killed her the morning of Oct. 4 when Shelley Casterline became enraged during an argument with her and stabbed her.

He said they found a knife in the glove box and bloody clothes in the stolen Jeep they'd been driving in Iowa.

Iowa investigators also turned up a pawn receipt for a 51-inch TV, X-Box 360 and games stolen Oct. 4 in a burglary in a house a block from Barone's.

The Casterlines made their first court appearances Friday in Webster County Court on charges of first-degree murder, use of a deadly weapon, burglary and theft.

If convicted, they face possible life sentences.

 

Mother, son wanted in connection to Nebraska homicide arrested near Newton

By Katherine Klingseis

Oct 6, 2013

A mother and son wanted in connection with a Nebraska homicide were taken into custody after allegedly mugging a woman in a Newton Wal-Mart parking lot Saturday, officials said.

Shelley Lynn Casterline, 41, and Andrew James Casterline, 23, both of Guide Rock, Neb., are being held at the Jasper County Jail for being wanted in Webster County in south-central Nebraska for theft by unlawful taking. They are also both wanted in connection to a homicide in Nebraska, said Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Scott Bright.

The Casterlines were charged locally with first-degree robbery for reportedly mugging a woman in a Newton Wal-Mart parking lot, officials said.

Police were able to trace the Casterlines’ cellphone to Grimes at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Bright said. At 3:50 p.m., their cellphone was traced to the Baxter and Newton area.

Police responded to an armed robbery in the Newton Wal-Mart parking lot at 5:37 p.m. Saturday, Bright said.

Andrew Casterline allegedly grabbed a woman’s purse and took off running, Bright said. A group of Newton residents started chasing Andrew Casterline in the parking lot.

Shelley Casterline then reportedly jumped out of a vehicle with a knife. The two Casterlines eventually got back into their car and drove away. No one was injured in the incident, Bright said.

An Iowa State Patrol trooper spotted the Casterlines’ vehicle at 5:42 p.m. The trooper waited for backup before stopping the vehicle on I-80 and taking the two individuals into custody at 5:46 p.m.

“It was just fortunate we had troopers there at the time,” Bright said.

 

Shelley Casterline

Shelley Casterline