A mother of five who was stabbed to death at a Bible study group by her ex-con husband was found to have divorce papers in her car at the time. Her husband was sentenced to 33 years in prison for the brutal murder.
Corina Woodhull, 41, was stabbed to death by her husband, Robert Castillo, 41, in front of horrified relatives at their home in St. Paul, Minnesota, in March 2023 during a weekly religious service she hosted.
At Castillo's sentencing on Friday, prosecutors said Woodhull, who has five children with her husband, had been planning to leave him before the killings.
The court heard Ms Woodhull's mother found divorce papers in her daughter's car shortly after her death.
Prosecutors also said Castillo had a lengthy criminal record for other violent offences, a history of hurting those close to him and that both families had tried to dissuade him from marrying.
“The fact that she thought she could help him and that she did is a testament to the kind of person she was,” the prosecutor said in court.
“I can't believe she knew that her marriage vows would ultimately be a death sentence.”
Castillo, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in his wife's death earlier this year, apologized in court for killing her nearly two years ago but said he didn't remember anything from the time because he was suffering from a drug-induced psychosis.
Police said relatives said the couple was sitting on a couch during a Bible meeting on the evening of March 21, 2023, when Castillo whispered something in his wife's ear.
When she shook her head and said “no,” Castillo pulled out a hunting knife and stabbed her multiple times until family members disarmed him.
“Even though I cannot remember anything that happened that day due to drug-induced psychosis, I take full responsibility for my actions,” Castillo said during the hearing.
Defense attorney Mark Austin previously said Castillo's last memory as a free man was getting high with friends earlier that morning and taking so many drugs that he couldn't remember what happened after.
Prior to the murder, Castillo had already been convicted of eight felonies, including second-degree assault, for beating another woman with a hammer in 2014.
At the time of the fatal stabbing, Castillo was on strict probation and had a warrant out for his arrest after he failed to appear in court for assaulting two corrections officers at Stillwater State Prison in 2020.
The judge ultimately sentenced Castillo to more than 33 years in prison for murdering his wife.
His lawyers sought a sentence of 25 years, saying Castillo was remorseful.
With post wire
