The case of a Putnam County man accused of murder is moving forward after a county magistrate found probable cause to send it to a grand jury.
Philip Casto, 33, appeared before Magistrate Linda Hunt on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.
He is accused of shooting 27-year-old Jennifer Evans on Sept. 10 at her home in Teays Valley.
Prosecutors presented evidence during the hearing that documented the relationship between Casto and Evans, in which Evans directed him not to contact her anymore, Putnam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Sorsaia said.
Also presented was a text Evans sent her husband on the day of her death, alerting him that Casto had visited the home.
Evans’ cellphone was found near her body. But the timing of that text, coupled with surveillance footage from a property near Evans’ townhome, was the “gist of the preliminary hearing,” Sorsaia said afterward. The video shows a silver Honda Civic, similar to the one Casto owns, pull into the parking area near the home at 4:38 p.m., then a person walking to Evans’ town house, before leaving at 4:54 p.m.
During those 16 minutes, Evans sent the text to her husband that Casto had shown up, Sorsaia said. Evans’ husband discovered her body when he returned home at about 5:30 p.m., according to the criminal complaint.
Sorsaia expects the grand jury will hear the case when it meets in March, although its next meeting is in November.
“There will be a lot of forensic work; we’ll meet with the medical examiner [and get] the autopsy specifics to be presented to the grand jury. ... I don’t think we can get it done in November,” he said.
Casto remains at Western Regional Jail, where he is being held without bail.