HOUSTON – A Houston man who held a woman captive in a house while beating and torturing her until she gave him money and signed over the title to her Mercedes-Benz has been sentenced to 40 years in prison, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Wednesday.
Andrew R. Castillo, 35, was convicted by a jury and sentenced after six days of trial for brutally beating and burning a 42-year-old woman he had been in a relationship with before the attack, according to a news release.
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“You are a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” the victim told Castillo during her impact statement in court. “I saw the devil in you on the day of the robbery.”
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Investigators said the victim and Castillo had been in a relationship but stopped seeing each other after he was arrested on several other charges, including human trafficking and aggravated sexual assault of a child.
According to the district attorney’s office, Castillo is a musician with an Instagram following of 106,000 followers under the name Sir Freakalot Fresh (@sirfr3akalotfresh). Ogg said the victim had a cellphone that Castillo used, and she turned it over to law enforcement to help build the case against him. Castillo, who investigators said was arrested for those crimes and then freed on bond, was able to lure the victim to a mutual friend’s vacant house. Once she was there, Castillo allegedly ordered another woman to repeatedly physically attack the victim for over 13 hours.
“Castillo threatened the victim with a handgun to force her to transfer money to him. He later used that money to go shopping for new shoes,” the release said.
Investigators said while the victim was trapped at the house, she was severely beaten and tortured, including being burned with a torch lighter until she signed over the title to her Mercedes-Benz sedan.
“Domestic violence can take many different forms, which is why we take these cases so seriously,” Ogg said. “This man preys on women and when they don’t do what he wants, the violence escalates. We are glad this woman survived her ordeal and got justice.”
Assistant District Attorneys James McKenney and Tim Boman, who are assigned to the DA’s human trafficking/exploitation division, prosecuted the case.
“He acted as a parasite and a master manipulator,” McKenney said. “He is a narcissist who finds people and uses them for the money. He’s truly evil.”
Ogg said Castillo must serve at least half of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. The remaining charges against him are pending at this time.