A couple people in Bryan Castleman's life seem unsurprised that he's accused of murdering his wife and father-in-law.
The 50-year-old Floridian allegedly killed 47-year-old Mary Ann Castleman and 74-year-old Leroy Minnich earlier this month, likely over the Thanksgiving weekend, NWF Daily News reports.
Neighbor Ricardo Reynolds told WMBB that Castleman showed him the bodies, "pretty badly murdered," on Monday night.
Castleman admitted to the murder, but claims he doesn't know why he did it, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday.
The complaint states that Castleman told investigators that he stabbed the pair of victims. However, Chief Phillip Thorne of the Springfield Police Department told WMBB that their deaths appear to have been caused by blunt force trauma.
An acquaintance of Castleman's, Crystall Stallings, says she's "not surprised" at the allegations.
That's because he assaulted her six years ago. Stallings told the NWF Daily News she was walking in July 2004 when Castleman offered her a ride. She initially declined because she didn't know him that well, but he talked her into accepting.
Then, she says, Castleman drove her to his house, locked her inside and threatened to rape her. She fought back in a violent struggle that include Castleman smashing a bottle against her head and smothering her with pillows.
"It was something in his eyes. I could see cold. He wanted to kill me," Stallings said.
She eventually escaped, and Castleman was charged with attempted sexual battery and false imprisonment. However, he took a plea deal, pleading no contest to a charge of felony battery, and was sentenced only with probation.
Castleman's daughter, Briana Castleman, told WJHG she thought her father was "possibly" capable of murder. The 20-year-old, whose mother is not the woman who was murdered, told the station that most of her childhood memories about her dad involve emotional abuse. That abuse, she says, is why her mother divorced him.
Bryan Castleman had been married to Mary Anna Castleman since August.
He is being held at the Bay County Hail without bond on two counts of open murder.
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