Police may have never been able to solve this case if not for a surveillance camera at the neighbor's house that caught a man entering the Castillo home the night of the murder. TB3NfbLuZ;P}"_N.Uk|I J,]=/+nO'. Word of Michelle's disappearance reaches oldest son Nick, who's away at college. Braulio Castillo has been working as a Controversial Information Technology Contractor at Fcw for 9 years. He also moved right down the street from his estranged wife. user asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your The money furnished a lavish lifestyle, but it couldn't buy happiness. June 28, 2013, 04:25 PM EDT. More Castillo Pages. 4. And then at 12:31 I see a figure run out of the house when we reviewed it.". They wanted to be there for their mother.". ", Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information. Castillos lawyers, Peter Greenspun and Jonathan Shapiro, argued that the divorce was amicable and proceeding toward a mutually agreed resolution. Michelle was born in Warner Robins, Georgia on January 15, 1971. Regarding our company or our marriage or our life? She was a mother of children and they were obviously the central focus of her life. Terms of Use | They pulled the dog off that, the dog then went through the entire house, over 10,000 square feet. Shame on you. 2021-01-04T16:12:20-05:00 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Michelle G. Castillo, was found dead in her home on March 20th when police entered the home to check on her wellbeing. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising Ashburn Man, Braulio Castillo, Made Wife's Murder Look Like Suicide: PD "That was certainly susupicious," Chapman said. services we are able to offer. Michelle Castillo was found dead, hanging by an electrical cord wrapped around a basement shower head, in the family home on March 20, 2014. Unfortunately, with no witnesses or leads to follow, the primary investigation was quite challenging for authorities. But Im completely okay with the sentence. The medical examiner ruled she had not been strangled by the cord around her neck, but had been suffocated, and Braulio Castillos DNA was found on her bed and sweatshirt, though he hadnt been in the house for a year. "That hanging was not the cause of her death.". To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. When he arrived at the home, he asked a neighbor to help find Michelle because he couldn't enter the house due to the protection order. Ive lost my mom, but Ive also lost my dad. What to Know. The body of his wife was discovered March 20 in her home in Ashburn, Va. NEXT STORY: Braulio Castillo (Photo: Loudon County Sheriff's Office). Later that evening, Michelle picks up her children from a visit with Braulio. Castillo had no experience working with the IRS but still won a huge contract due to his status as well as a personal relationship with a top IRS contracting official. Illinois Rep. Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran and double amputee, showed little sympathy for Virginia businessman Braulio Castillo when he testified on Capitol Hill Wednesday. He told an examiner for the VA that his injury is one of the crosses I bear due to my service to our great country.. The victim had extensive injuries on her face and neck, along with severe bruising to her legs, which hinted at possible physical assault. cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, After a jury in June convicted their father, former IT executive Braulio Castillo, of first-degree murder, three of the children tore into him in a Loudoun County courtroom Friday as a judge considered Castillos sentence. cookies (and the associated sale of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and The order was imposed, and Braulio Castillo was forced to move to another home a few blocks away in Ashburn. Soon, forensic evidence begins to support that conclusion. "As soon as I walked in I could tell this wasn't the home of a mother who would have killed herself," said Wittmann. Lets delve deep into the details of this case and find out where the murderer is at present, shall we? Oh my GOSH! 0. If true, this guy has been taking liberties with the contracting process and is a loose cannon at home. She is also survived by her mother, Judy Barnickel, her step father, Dale Barnickel, her father, Melvin Griffin, her step mother, Velma Griffin, her sister, Betty Lewis, her brother, Randy Middlebrooks and numerous family members. Michelle Castillo was a proud mother of five and resided in her residence at Belmont Station Road in Ashburn, Virginia. "It looked at first blush, yes, as a suicide, there's a woman hanging from a shower," said Det. Adding to the drama, another key witness has an even more difficult time showing up in court to testify against Braulio: Nicholas Castillo. You can usually find these settings in the Options or That person, or someone, emerged from the house at 12:30 a.m., the surveillance video showed. "I went to the autopsy the next day and there were extensive injuries," said McCaffrey. 2021-01-04T16:12:06-05:00 "I was looking at the time frame from midnight on and I didn't see any perpetrator going into the house, and I couldn't understand it because if it was after midnight, the alarm would've went off, those kids would've woke up, everybody would've woken up, so I couldn't understand it, and I'd lay there at night thinking in the initial stages, How did this happen?" "At one point I was laying there at night, I was just going to sleep, and my wife watches these crime shows, and she said 'Well maybe he got in before 12 o'clock, maybe he got in before Michelle got home,'" said McCaffrey. The trafficking charges against Castillo were reinstated, but subsequently nolle prossed. You wake up and realize it isn't a nightmare; you relive it.". An Ashburn man brutally beat and strangled his estranged wife, then made her death look like a suicide, investigators said. So what caused Michelle to fall into such sudden despair that she would take her own life? Thats the prep school football injury disabled veteran? ", "This was a very quick but very savage attack," said Alejandra Rueda. "And the dog immediately ran down to the basement and alerted in the shower, where Michelle was hanging. SBA decertified Strong Castle's HUBZone status in May 2013, while the Department of Veterans Affairs affirmed Strong Castles SDVOSB status last September. 1 Since then, Braulio has tried to submit petitions to get his conviction overturned but in vain. Braulio Castillo Phone Number, Address, Public Records | Radaris Police Say Man Made Wife's Death Look Like Suicide When Michelle Castillo was found slain in her Ashburn home in March 2014, five children were left without a mother. Soon a divorce case started. Braulio Castillo last played in 1992. Wherever there is government money there will be rampant fraud. Chapman told WUSA9 that aneighbor's surveillance cameras caught Braulio Castillo sneaking into the home the night before, on March 19, at 8:09 p.m., just before his wife and children came home. He had been free on $2 million bond for the last two years. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a sale of "What was interesting to me was when we dusted the shower stall there were no prints, nobody's prints," said McCaffrey. Appeals Court Upholds Castillo Murder Conviction Chief Deputy Commonwealths Attorney Nicole Wittman carried a large photo of Michelle Castillo and the children and placed it on an easel in front of Sincavage. These cookies collect information for analytics and to department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My The Loudoun County jury who convicted Braulio Castillo on Monday heard evidence and argument Tuesday morning, and then sentenced him to life plus 16 years in prison Tuesday afternoon. "These children are actually thriving if you can imagine it," said Wittmann. But it will take two weeks for DNA tests to confirm whose blood. to learn more. Castillo won a . The businessman wasn't going to let that happen. Murder Trial for Ashburn Man Expected to Conclude Friday A six week trial concluded in the Spring of 2016 with the Jury fixing Castillo's sentence at life, plus sixteen years imprisonment. browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this The IRS canceled the contracts amid allegations that the agency's deputy director for IT acquisition, Greg Roseman, offered Strong Castle an inside track on the business. Braulio Castillo is being held without bond. Castillo v. Commonwealth, 70 Va. App. 394 - Casetext Michelle graduated from Northside High School in Warner Robins, Georgia. "She was forward and her hair had been pulled in front of her face and the ligature was pulled around and on top of the hair, and been pulled," said Det. Strong Castle, a government IT solution provider, was blasted this week by Congress for alleged fraud related to more than $500 . used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. . content and messages you see on other websites you visit. Family and friends are coming together online to create a special keepsake. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be Justia US Law Case Law Virginia Case Law Virginia Court of Appeals - Published Opinions Decisions 2019 Braulio Marcelo Castillo, s/k/a Braulio Marcello Castillo v. Commonwealth of Virginia Braulio Castillo was charged April 1 with the first-degree murder of his wife, according to Loudoun County authorities. Loudoun Commonwealths Attorney Jim Plowman said the jury deliberated for about three hours before returning a life sentence on the first-degree murder charge, which had a minimum 20-year term, plus 15 years for burglary and one year for violating a protective order, for entering his former Ashburn home after being prohibited by the order.