What to Know
- Castillo he had a relationship with Kristin White after separating from his wife. They broke up, but he called and wrote White from jail.
- The prosecution questioned Castillo's alibi, namely the black eye he received the night she died and his trip to his friend's house.
A Loudoun County CEO was sentenced Friday to life in prison plus 16 years for killing his estranged wife. He staged the mother of five's death to look like a suicide, prosecutors have said.
A judge imposed the jury's recommendation for Braulio Castillo. Prosecutors had asked for life plus 21 years.
Castillo, of Ashburn, was convicted in June of killing his wife, Michelle Castillo, in 2014. He was found guilty of breaking into her home, suffocating her and then hanging her body in a shower to make it look like she killed herself.
The two were in the middle of a bitter divorce and custody battle.
The judge's sentencing decision followed the testimony of two of the Castillos' children and an emotional letter from another. The children testified about how the loss of their mother had changed their lives.
"I miss my mom. I love my mom, and a big portion of my life is gone," Nicholas Castillo, 23, said in court earlier this year.
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The four youngest children now are being cared for by foster parents, two of Michelle Castillo's closest friends.
Braulio Castillo's sister spoke on his behalf, asking for leniency and citing his charitable work.
Castillo is planning to appeal the sentence.
