Second day of Markle murder trial brings opening statements, witness testimony
By SYDNEY KENT &
HOLLY GASKILL
Thirty-six stab wounds reportedly contributed to the death of 72-year-old Bernice “Dianna” Eubank of Markle.
Huntington County Prosecutor Jeremy Nix included the detail from police investigation in the state’s opening statement on day two of five in the trial against Anthony Castleman, 38. Castleman is charged with firs-degree murder for the death of his grandmother. Her body was found behind her home on Nov. 12, 2023.
Following jury selection on Monday, the trial reconvened Tuesday with opening statements from the state and defense, as well as multiple hours of testimony from witnesses and experts.
During his opening statement, Nix explained that on Nov. 10, Eubank drove Castleman to his mother, Tiffanee Cole’s, house while she ran errands and picked him up later. This was reportedly the last time Eubank was seen alive.
Nix further explained that Castleman drove Eubank’s car to his cousin’s house, and that cousin then took Castleman to Ohio, where he met with a second cousin to obtain a bus ticket. After that, Castleman was not seen until Dec. 26 in Georgia, where he used a fake alias and refused to cooperate with law enforcement.
“Anthony Castleman’s DNA was found in and on grandma,” Nix added, referring to the DNA results of the investigation.
The jury also heard an opening statement from Castleman’s defense, the mother-daughter team of Kristina Lynn and Katrina Lynn of Lynn Law Office in Wabash.
Kristina Lynn said the case was a “rush to judgment by police” and a “conspiracy to frame Anthony Castleman” in her opening statement. Lynn told the jury they would hear evidence regarding what officers found and how family members at the crime scene allegedly tainted the investigation. Lynn stated that police relied heavily on testimony from David Watson, Castleman’s cousin, and called him unreliable and untruthful.
Cole was the first of four family witnesses to testify on Tuesday. Cole told the jury that she last saw her mother with her son, Castleman, on Friday, Nov. 10. Castleman was unemployed, did not have a car or cell phone, and had been living with Eubank at the time.
On Nov. 10, the three reportedly spoke about Eubank and Castleman buying a $1,000 truck for Castleman in Fort Wayne on Saturday, Nov. 11. Castleman was also left for several hours at Cole’s residence while Eubank ran some errands. Cole said Castleman briefly left during this time for unknown reasons and returned seeming “wired.”
Cole said she had not called her mother the next day, knowing Eubank intended to “make a day of” the trip to Fort Wayne with shopping and dining out. Cole said she received a call around 10 p.m. on Nov. 11 and returned it the next morning, Sunday, Nov. 12. The caller advised Cole that her mother’s car was at Watson’s house.
Cole said she called her mom and went to Eubank’s home when Eubank didn’t answer the call.
Cole reportedly found the house in disarray, with broken picture frames, items moved around and a large piece of the living room rug missing. She said she noticed a bottle with cigarette butts in it, as well as a small bottle of alcohol. She found it strange because Eubank did not allow either substance in her home.
Cole returned home to call her aunts, Eubank’s sisters, Patsy Fields and Linda Browning. They also testified Tuesday.
Fields and Browning said they drove around to check the parking lots of local churches and the homes of cousins they thought Eubank may have gotten lunch with. Fields had also noted Eubank’s absence after Eubank had not picked her up for church that morning.
Cole, Fields and Browning later walked around Eubank’s property and noticed a large pile of debris behind a shed. Part of the living room carpet appeared to be in the pile and soaked with blood. Eubank’s husband’s urn, which Cole said Eubank was known to carry with her throughout the day, was also found broken with the dubris.
Cole said that after calling local hospitals, she called the police.
Fields was the second witness to testify and largely corroborated the events detailed by Cole. After staying the evening with her son, Billy Fields, in Huntington on Nov. 10, the two drove past Eubank’s house on Nov. 11 and noticed Eubank’s vehicle was not there.
Billy Fields took the stand after his mother to confirm the statement, adding that he also didn’t see Eubank’s car at the house on three more occasions passing the property. He said there appeared to be no activity on the property all day, but admitted that he had no way of knowing what had happened in between him passing the property.
Patsy Fields said after she received a call from Cole, she and Browning visited the property to find their sister. Fields said the house was locked, and the usual spare key was missing from under a rock. The pair walked around the property looking for Eubank.
Fields said she found a picture of her and her sisters with blood on it and carried it around with her while she walked around calling out for Eubank.
“If Linda hadn’t told me to stop, I would have pulled back the rug and seen what was there,” Fields began to cry on the stand. “I kept telling her, I know she’s dead, she’s dead.”
Browning reiterated much of the same details told in Fields’ testimony, adding that she noticed a “homemade aluminum pipe” on the front porch. Browning said that she stopped Fields from pulling back on the carpet after touching a box in the pile and realizing it was soaked in blood. She began to pull back various credit and debit cards from the pile.
A juror asked Browning what type of relationship she had with Castleman, to which she responded that their interactions were “not good” in the summer and fall of 2023. She attributed Castleman’s reactions to conversations holding him accountable to getting a job and a place to live as the reason.
The state called four experts to the stand during the remainder of the day — Dr. Lindsey Emery, a private-practice forensic pathologist, Joyce Moss, a forensic nurse at the Fort Wayne Sexual Assault Treatment Center, Crime Scene Investigator Tim Dolby with the Indiana State Police, and Huntington County Deputy Coroner Eric Sands all testified to the details of Eubank’s autopsy, manner of death and cause of death.
Emery said that Eubank had 36 stab wounds total: 13 to the head and neck region, 19 to the torso region and four wounds to the hand. Emery explained that the wounds were both incised and stab wounds, meaning that some wounds were longer than they were deep, and vice versa.
Emery determined the stab wounds to be Eubanks’ cause of death and explained the differences between crime statistics that are available in movies versus real life. Emery pointed out several aspects she could not decipher, such as the exact time of death and the exact weapons or instruments used to commit the injuries.
“Anyone that says, ‘They died five hours and 40 minutes ago,’” Emery explained. “That’s bogus and actually, it is impossible.”
Emery detailed the effects of the stab wounds, including injury to nearly all of Eubank’s major organs. Emery advised that Eubank’s head had multiple bruises and contusions consistent with a blunt-force injury.
Nix displayed a long series of graphic and disturbing images, to which the defense consistently objected. Judge Samuel Conrad continually overruled the objections.
When the first image appeared, showing a wound across Eubank’s temple, Castleman quickly shut his computer screen off and began rubbing his temples. The graphic images appeared to disturb several jurors.
Moss took samples of potential DNA from Eubank’s body for evidence and her findings were shared with jurors. Moss also said there was a red area on Eubank’s genitalia that may have been normal for her or may indicate a sexual assault.
Dolby said he was called to Eubank’s home around 4:08 p.m. on Nov. 12. A different series of photos of the property were shown, with Dolby explaining the contents of the images. In one picture, Dolby pointed out Eubank’s shin under a pile of debris and lattice. In another photo, Dolby had photographed a picture of Eubank’s blood-soaked sweater after it was removed from her body.
Dolby explained that DNA samples were taken from various areas of the crime scene and Eubank’s vehicle. The defense pointed out that many of the DNA samples were never tested through a series of questions regarding their results.
Sands indicated Eubank’s time of death at 6 p.m. on Nov. 12, which was when her body was located under the debris. He also explained, much like Emery, that real life is not fiction and some details simply are not known.
The trial is expected to continue at 8:30 a.m. today in the Huntington Circuit Court.
sydney@news-banner.com
holly@news-banner.com
