Justilien
LIMA — An Allen County grand jury on Monday returned charges of aggravated murder, murder, rape and strangulation against a man in connection with the March death of Lima resident Chrislande Auguste.
The woman was found dead on a bed in a Makley Drive residence on March 10 after officers responded to a 911 call. An autopsy determined Auguste died from strangulation and suffered blunt force injuries.
Gervens Justilien, 32, the principal suspect in Auguste’s death, fled the area following the incident and was captured in Rhode Island on March 29. He was brought back to Lima by Allen County Sheriff’s Office deputies May 31 from Providence, Rhode Island.
An arraignment hearing for Justilien has been scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Thursday, June 13, in Allen County Common Pleas Court. A Haitian Creole interpreter reportedly has been secured for the hearing.
Justilien and Auguste, both Haitian nationals, reportedly were living with a group of fellow Haitians on Makley Drive at the time of the incident.
Investigators said Auguste had traveled from Haiti to the United States in October 2022 and had been granted a temporary employment authorization card while awaiting an asylum hearing. A spokesman for the sheriff’s office said at the time that authorities believed everyone living in the Makley Drive residence was in the United States legally.
