25-year-old man, who planned to kill the 11-year-old girl having a sleepover at the home he broke into and then indecently abuse her dead body, was sentenced
Michigan – In a chilling case in Michigan that stunned both investigators and the courtroom, a 25‑year‑old man identified as R. Castillo has been ordered to spend decades behind bars for a savage and entirely unprovoked home invasion that ended in the near‑fatal stabbing of an 11‑year‑old girl during what should have been a peaceful sleepover. Prosecutors later revealed that Castillo admitted he intended not only to kill the young girl but also to abuse her body after her death, exposing a depth of planning and cruelty that horrified even seasoned authorities.
Castillo received a 40‑year prison sentence last week, the outcome of his earlier no‑contest pleas to assault with intent to murder, first‑degree home invasion, and assault with intent to commit criminal se-ual conduct. When he appeared before the judge on Wednesday, the courtroom heard a disturbing narrative of a crime that was not only brutal, but intentional in ways no one in the home could have imagined.
The attack unfolded in the first dark hours of June 15, 2024. Castillo slipped into the home just before 3 a.m., entering through the kitchen, where he armed himself with a knife. He then moved upstairs, where two girls slept—the homeowner’s daughter and her visiting friend, the 11‑year‑old victim. Once inside the bedroom, the violence began with no warning. Castillo repeatedly stabbed the sleeping guest, leaving her bleeding on the floor. The homeowner’s daughter was physically unharmed, but the terror of watching her friend attacked has stayed with her, shaping the way the entire household now remembers that night.
Initially, nothing about the scene made sense. Police could find no link—no relationship, no prior conflict—between Castillo and the victims. Investigators described it as a completely random act, something that only deepened the fear surrounding the crime. But as detectives pressed forward, Castillo’s own admissions revealed a motive darker than anyone anticipated. According to court documents, he told investigators that he had planned to kill the young girl and then have se- with her dead body, and that he brought the knife upstairs intending to kill everyone in the house if needed. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney E. Bartlett told the court that Castillo’s behavior and statements showed a “complete lack of remorse,” calling the case one of the most disturbing she had seen.
The victim—who survived despite her severe injuries—shared her own account through an emotional impact statement read aloud in court. She described the shock, the pain, and the horrifying clarity of those moments: “I remember being in a lot of pain on the floor. I remember seeing all my blood everywhere. I remember feeling warm running down my body from the blood. I remember the smell of it… I was terrified.” The homeowner also addressed the court, explaining that the violence uprooted their entire lives. “We had to move,” he said. “We had to clean up just blood and mess. We’ve heard what he wanted to do to our family. This should not be taken lightly.”
Judge C. Mims echoed those sentiments, telling Castillo that the idea of entering a stranger’s home, arming himself with their kitchen knife, and nearly killing a young girl simply sleeping beside her friend was “disturbing on every level.” Castillo knelt during his brief chance to speak, offering an apology that the court received but could not equate with the suffering he caused. “I know I don’t deserve it… I was a lost person,” he said. “I ask for forgiveness… I’m sorry.” But for the victim and her family, forgiveness cannot erase the terror of that night. What was meant to be an ordinary sleepover became a life‑altering tragedy at the hands of a stranger who had slipped through their door with intentions no one could have foreseen.
