AVERY COUNTY, N.C. — A woman’s body was found encased in concrete inside her home’s basement in North Carolina and the woman who had been hired to take care of her is now charged with her murder.
Lynn Keene, 70, had fallen earlier this year and suffered from a traumatic brain injury, WSOC reported.
Keene’s family hired Elizabeth Carserino, 53, as a live-in caretaker for Keene, but in June, that working arrangement came to an end when Keene fired Carserino.
Neighbors, however, said that as of late July, Carserino had still been living in Keene’s home.
Keene’s family members said they had last spoken to her on June 14.
On July 30, Avery County deputies issued a missing person report and when detectives visited Keene’s home, they found it locked and her 2000 Lincoln Town Car missing, WSOC reported.
Eventually, Cherokee Police Department found the car abandoned. The car was locked and the keys were found inside, under the driver’s seat.
Investigators said Carserino’s cellphone was in the area where the car was found and she was seen on security cameras at a nearby gift shop.
When detectives searched Keene’s home after getting a warrant, they, along with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations found blood on the walls, ceiling and floors of a bathroom. They also found Keene’s remains encased in concrete in the home’s basement, WSOC reported.
Officials said Keene was strangled with a belt and hit in the head, but they have not said when she died. Neighbors, however, said it had been months since they last saw her.
Carserino has been charged with murder, identity theft, larceny of a motor vehicle and financial card theft.
She is being held on a more than $1.6 million bond, WSOC reported.