"It is extremely unusual for us," Avery County Sheriff Kevin Fyre said of the case to Inside Edition Digital.
An elderly North Carolina woman was found dead in the basement of her Newland home last week with her body entombed in concrete. Now, a caretaker has been charged in the murder of 70-year-old Lynn Keene.
Elizabeth Freeman, also known as Elizabeth Carserino, 53, is being held in Avery County Detention Facility on more than $1.6 million bond.
Keene had not been seen since mid-June, and when her car turned up abandoned on Aug. 2, authorities were able to get a search warrant to enter her home.
That’s when they found “human remains entombed in concrete in the basement of the home,” according to a statement by the Avery County Sheriff’s Office. Another detective described it as a mass of hardened concrete, according to WTVD.
An autopsy and dental records confirmed that the remains were Keene's.
Authorities identified Freeman as a person of interest ahead of her arrest. She was hired by the family to be her live-in caretaker, the statement said.
The small community is shocked by the news, Avery County Sheriff Kevin Fyre told Inside Edition Digital.
“It is extremely usual for us,” Fyre said. “It is a very rural county … mostly retirement and summer homes.”
Freeman was expected to appear in court for an initial appearance Monday, according to authorities.
