Bludgeoned Woman & Her Daughter
Police charged an East Elmhurst man with murdering his girlfriend and her daughter in their respective bedrooms last Wednesday, Jan. 29, claiming they were witches who cast a voodoo spell on him.
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown identified the defendant as Carlos Alberto Amarillo, 44, of 87th Street in East Elmhurst, who was charged with two counts of firstdegree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and one count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison without parole.
“The defendant is accused of the violent beating death of his girlfriend and her daughter-who in fact was herself the mother of a young child,” Brown said. “Thankfully, that child, a seven-year-old girl, was not harmed in the attacks.”
Following a call to 911 at approximately 12:10 a.m., police arrived at a second-floor apartment on 87th Street, according to the charges.
Upon entering the front bedroom, they found Estrella Castaneda, 56, face up on the bed with a pillow over her face, blood on the bed and on the wall behind her.
The rubber grip of a hammer was found on the bed next to the body.
Police later found Lina Castaneda, 25, face down on the floor in another bedroom with injuries to her head. A hammer was found on the floor next to the body, partially covered by some clothing.
The victim’s seven-year-old daughter was found unharmed on the bed in her mother’s room.
It is alleged that Amarillo called 911 at approximately 12:10 a.m. this morning and said that “two females are dead, they were assassinated, hurry they are dead. I killed them because they are witches, I want the police to kill me. I killed them with a hammer.”
It is further alleged that when the police arrived at the location shortly thereafter Amarillo was observed walking from the doorway to the street, carrying a Bible, and that he allegedly stated, “I killed them, I killed them.”
Finally, it is alleged that in statements to police, Amarillo said that he believed both of the victims were witches and were performing voodoo and casting spells on him.
The investigation was conducted by police officers assigned to the 115th Precinct Detective Squad.
Assistant District Attorney Patricia A. Diaz of the DA’s Homicide Investigations Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Peter T. Reese, bureau chief, and Peter J. McCormack III and Richard B. Schaeffer, deputy bureau chiefs, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Charles A. Testagrossa and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Daniel A. Saunders.
It was noted that a criminal complaint is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
