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Man charged in 2 slayings after bodies found at 2 nearby homes

Mildred Kirkland is devastated at the loss of longtime friend John Duncan of Heath Springs.

"I had to come over here to see if it was true. He was gentle. The kindest person you'd ever want to meet," Kirkland said.

Lancaster County Sheriff Office's deputies told Channel 9 that Duncan, 71, was found stabbed to death on the floor of his home on Clyde Street. His brother discovered the body Wednesday night after not hearing from Duncan for several days. He had been dead about 24 hours.

Deputies believe the same man who killed Duncan also killed Sandra Johnson, 54, in her home less than a quarter-mile away on Depot Street. Investigators found Johnson on Tuesday after a family member hadn't heard from her in a while.

Deputies believe she had been dead for a few days. On Thursday, family members told Channel 9 they didn't want to comment about what happened.

Arkevus Cauthen, 28, was charged with both slayings. Sheriff Barry Faile said the two victims both knew the suspect and no sign of forced entry was found at either crime scene.

"We just don't know what happened yet at this time," Faile said, "But it's very clear, the same person was involved in both crimes."

Cauthen had only been out of jail since May 13. He was arrested in February and charged with attacking a woman in a violent purse-snatching in the parking lot of the Lancaster Walmart. That victim didn't want her name used but told Channel 9 what happened.

"He hit me so hard he knocked me off my feet,” the victim said. “He was beating me like his own personal punching bag."

The victim said Cauthen was found by using the Find My Phone app on her cellphone, which he took.    

She said she begged the judge to keep him locked up.

"If the judge just would have made him stay behind bars, and just listened to what I said, this should have never happened," she said.

Court officials called her on the May 13 to tell her Cauthen had made bail and would be released.    
Now he's charged with two killings.

Only Eyewitness News was at the courthouse Thursday afternoon when Cauthen stood before a judge for a bail hearing on the murder charges.  

He had visible cuts and scrapes on his arms and hands.

Kirkland, a close friend of Duncan, is also related by marriage to Cauthen.

"He's trouble and the type of trouble that he has, don't need to be out on the street," she said.

Xavier Woodard lives in the neighborhood near Duncan and saw all the police cruisers on the street late Wednesday. He still can't believe someone killed Duncan.
 
"It's pretty sad for most of us because we know him. People would just hang out with him. We'd talk to him," he said.

Cauthen was denied bond and said little in court on Thursday.  

Sheriff's deputies are still working on a motive for the killings and won't say if anything was taken from either home.

Autopsy and toxicology reports are also still pending.

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