Man faces capital murder charge in stepdaughter's slaying
McALLEN — The little girl would not stop crying Saturday afternoon as Hector Castro watched the World Cup soccer game at his apartment, police said.
Frustrated, the 27-year-old man clenched his right fist and took two swings at the 2-year-old’s rib cage, according the confession the man gave police.
The girl stopped breathing. Castro tried to revive the child, but it was too late, he told police.
When the girl’s mother returned home, Castro told her the little girl was asleep. The mother told him to wake her up so she could eat, but Castro told the mother to let the girl sleep.
The mother went into the room and found her daughter cold and pale, a screw stuck in her mouth. Castro later told police he put the screw there so it would look as though the girl had choked to death.
Castro was formally charged with capital murder Monday evening in McAllen Municipal Court. Judge Ernest Aliseda set Castro’s bond at $1 million.
Police refused to release the name of the 2-year-old girl Castro admitted to killing after failing a polygraph test about his involvement in her death Saturday afternoon.
But the police investigation reveals evidence the girl had suffered ongoing abuse in the weeks before she died.
McAllen police responded to 3101 N. Eighth Street at 4:17 p.m. Saturday after emergency crews called to the Greens Pointe apartments were unable to revive the child.
Hidalgo County Justice of Peace Rosa Treviño pronounced the girl’s death and ordered an autopsy of her remains.
“A baby, a little angel like this, that cannot defend themselves, nobody who can guard them and keep them away from danger — I just don’t understand how this can happen,” she said.
An autopsy performed Sunday revealed the girl had suffered three broken ribs on her left side and one on her right. Three of her ribs had been broken for several weeks and the other was one or two days old, the complaint states.
Bruises on the girl’s face that emerged Monday suggested that someone had placed a hand or object over the girl’s mouth, according to the coroner’s report.
Texas Department of Family Protective Services spokesman John Lennan confirmed Monday that the state investigated the family once in January 2004 and again in April of this year.
Child Protective Services investigators were unable to confirm neglectful supervision and ruled out physical neglect allegations in 2004, Lennan said in an e-mail. The case filed in April remains open.
The slain girl’s four young siblings remain in CPS custody pending a court hearing in early July.
The girl’s slaying is McAllen’s fifth murder investigation in 2010 and third this month.
Castro, a Mexican national living illegally in the U.S., was set to be transferred to the Hidalgo County Jail late Monday evening.
If convicted of capital murder, Castro could face the death penalty.
___
Monitor staff writer Neal Morton contributed to this report.
___
Jared Taylor covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.
