HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) - 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.
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