In what police described as a burglary gone horribly wrong, 73-year-old Geraldine Castle was shot multiple times inside a Seneca, South Carolina, home on March 7, 2019. The female victim succumbed to her injuries four days later at a Greenville hospital. The investigation into her death quickly led to the arrest of two teenagers, one of whom was her own grandson.
Authorities arrested 19-year-old Decota Castle Brown and 17-year-old Hunter Lee Hunnicutt over the weekend following the
shooting. Initially charged with attempted murder and first-degree burglary, the charges were upgraded to murder after Castle's death. Investigators stated that Brown and Hunnicutt broke into the residence on Maple Avenue with the intention of stealing firearms. When they encountered Geraldine Castle, Brown shot her three times. Seneca Police Captain Casey Bowling characterized the crime not as a premeditated act, but as a residential burglary that escalated tragically.
Following a three-day trial, an Oconee County jury found Decota Castle Brown guilty of the murder of his grandmother. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison for murder, 15 years for first-degree burglary, and five years for possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, with the sentences to be served consecutively. Brown will not be eligible for parole. Hunter Lee Hunnicutt pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and received a sentence of 15 years, suspended to seven years in prison, followed by five years of probation. He was credited with 1,083 days for time served while awaiting the resolution of his case.
