Texan Accused of Cyber-Stalking and Murder Dies in Jail

A Texan who was indicted on capital murder charges after being accused of cyber-stalking real estate agents and threatening to sexually assault their children has died in jail. 

Andy Castillo was “released deceased” from the Lubbock County Detention Center on Friday at 4:33pm. Officials from the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office haven’t revealed how the 58-year-old former resident of Lubbock met his end, but did say that Castillo was at the University Medical Center when he died. 

Castillo was charged in January 2020 over the cyber-harassment of realtors in the Waco area. He allegedly used apps to mask his identity before sending the realtors sexually explicit images and videos from multiple phones.

Castillo was further accused of downloading photos of realtors’ children from social media and sending these images to the realtors along with graphic descriptions of the ways in which he wanted to sexually assault the minors. 

Authorities believe Castillo may have stalked around 100 realtors in roughly 20 cities and 10 states. Police said that Castillo sent his last perverse and threatening message roughly five minutes before his arrest.

Castillo was charged with one count of cyber-stalking and two counts of criminal solicitation-aggravated sexual assault of a child. However, these charges were dropped in December 2020 when Castillo was indicted for the murder of two women who were roommates in Lubbock County.

Last September, cold case investigators linked DNA samples taken from Castillo when he was arrested in connection with the cyber-stalking to DNA evidence collected from the murder scenes of 21-year-old Cynthia Palacio and 21-year-old Linda Carbajal. 

Palacio was strangled to death in July 2003 and her roommate’s life was cut short nine months later. The bodies of both women were discovered on two different rural roads in Texas. 

“A lot of women have been victimized by this creep,” said McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara.

Speaking after Castillo’s DNA had been found on Palacio’s blouse and necklace and under her fingernails as well as in semen on her thigh, McNamara said: “There’s no question in our mind that he committed this murder.”