On May 14, 2024, female, 17-year-old Northern Arapaho student Lene'a Rene Lee Brown died after being shot in a west-Casper neighborhood near Buckboard Park. The Natrona County Coroner publicly identified the victim as female, 17-year-old Lene'a Brown of Casper later that day; responding police and deputies had found her just after midnight with a gunshot wound and she was pronounced dead at Banner-Wyoming Medical Center.
Reporting and family accounts also identify the victim as 17-year-old Northern Arapaho tribal member Lene'a Rene Lee Brown.
Investigators determined that the shooting followed a series of threatening messages from Lene'a's ex-boyfriend and a late-night plan to meet near Buckboard Park.
Evidence described in court showed hostile texts in the hours and days before the killing, that the shooter had taken a handgun from his mother's home, and that he approached 17-year-old Northern Arapaho tribal member Lene'a Brown at the street before firing at close range; he was located within about an hour, surrendered, and the firearm was recovered.
Police arrested a then-juvenile suspect, Eavan Castaner, the former boyfriend of Lene'a, 17-year-old Northern Arapaho tribal member. Prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder and misdemeanor stalking; a judge set bond at $1 million cash and the case proceeded in adult court.
In November 2024, Castaner pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and misdemeanor stalking for killing 17-year-old Northern Arapaho tribal member Lene'a Rene Lee Brown.
In April 2025, a Natrona County district judge sentenced him to 42–75 years in prison, noting the record of threatening messages and the deliberate nature of the act.
Obituaries and family statements describe 17-year-old Northern Arapaho tribal member Lene'a Rene Lee Brown's community ties and services held in Casper and on the Wind River Reservation. Funeral notices record that Lene'a was an enrolled Northern Arapaho member with services in Casper and burial at St. Stephen's Catholic Cemetery in Ethete.
