In the wake of the massacre, Joseph Castorena fled the country and hid out in Mexico for six weeks before being captured in December thanks to a joint effort involving the Aurora Police Department, the FBI and local police officers in Mexico.
A Colorado man who executed three of his ex-girlfriend's family members and a good Samaritan who tried to help the victims will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Arapahoe County District Judge David Karpel sentenced Joseph Castorena, 23, to four consecutive life sentences plus an additional 24 years after a jury found him guilty of four counts of first-degree murder and a single count of attempted murder following a nine-day trial back in May.
Castorena's ex-girlfriend had been granted a restraining order just one week before the murders back in October 2022, according to the Office of the District Attorney for Colorado's 18th District (DA)
She then arrived home with her two children the night before Halloween and found Castorena's keys in her bedroom, according to the DA.
The ex-girlfriend immediately called 911 to report that her ex may be hiding out in the home, but soon after she connected with the dispatcher shots could be heard ringing out in the house, according to the DA.
In the end, she and her two children were unharmed but this was not the case for her family members: Maria Anita Serrano, Jesus Serrano and Kenneth Luque. Those three and Rudolfo Perez, a neighbor who prosecutors say rushed outside to help when he heard the gunfire, were all killed by Castorena.
In the wake of the massacre, Castorena fled the country and hid out in Mexico for six weeks before being captured in December thanks to a joint effort involving the Aurora Police Department, the FBI, local police officers in Mexico, the Instituto Nacional de Migracion and the Mexican government.
Authorities were able to track him down thanks to the large lion tattoo he has on his neck, according to police.
The defense had argued that the four life sentences should run concurrent but the judge ultimately sided with prosecutors.
“This coward executed an entire family and innocent tenant,” Senior Chief Deputy DA Darcy Kofol said. “This defendant couldn’t accept the fact that his ex-girlfriend wanted to move on with her life. Instead, he decided to viciously murder everyone she loved.”
Castorena is now in custody while awaiting his assignment to a state correctional facility.
