Caretaker charged with murder after woman’s remains found ‘entombed in concrete’

AVERY COUNTY, N.C. — Authorities said a caretaker for a woman who was found dead last week in her home -- entombed in concrete in the basement -- has been arrested and charged with murder.

Avery County Sheriff Kevin Frye announced on Sunday that Elizabeth Carserino, 53, of Goose Creek, South Carolina, was in the county jail on bond. She was taken into custody Saturday and faces other charges, including identity theft, larceny of motor vehicle and financial card theft.

Carserino was wanted in the death of 70-year-old Lynn Gay Keene of Linville Falls.

On July 30, Avery County deputies filed a missing person report for Keene. She had been reported missing from her Linville Falls home by family members, who said they had last spoken to her on June 14.

When detectives initially went to Keene’s home, they found it was secured and that Keene’s 2000 Lincoln Town Car was missing. Keene and her vehicle were both entered into the North Carolina database.

Last Monday, officers with the Cherokee Police Department notified Avery County that the Lincoln had been found abandoned on Blue Wing Road in Cherokee.

Investigators said the car was locked and the keys for the vehicle were found beneath the driver’s seat.

Avery County detectives were then able to get a search warrant for Keene’s home and, with help from the North Carolina SBI, entered the house. During the search, detectives and SBI agents found human remains “entombed in concrete” in the basement.

An autopsy determined through dental records that the remains were Keene. The autopsy also determined that Keene did not die of natural causes and that the cause of death was homicide.

Detectives quickly identified the person of interest in Keene’s homicide as Carserino, who was hired by the family to be Keene’s live-in caretaker.

Carserino is currently in the Avery County Detention Facility under a secured bond of $1,625,000.

Check back with wsoctv.com for updates on this story.

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