A Minnesota man gets 33 years for fatally stabbing his wife during Bible study

September 14, 2024 - 2:41 PM

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota man was sentenced to more than 33 years in prison for stabbing his wife to death during a Bible study session.

Robert Castillo, 41, who pleaded guilty in March to second-degree murder, apologized in court Friday for killing his wife, Corinna Woodhull, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. They had been married about two years and have five children, who are now ages 11 to 24.

Castillo's sister told police she hosted a weekly Bible study at her St. Paul home. On the night of March 21, 2023, the couple was sitting on a couch when Castillo whispered something in Woodhull’s ear. After she shook her head “no,” Castillo pulled out a hunting knife and stabbed her multiple times, until his own family disarmed him.

His attorney, Mark Austin, told the court that Castillo’s last memory as a free man was from early that morning when he got high with a friend and ingested so much he didn't recall what happened afterward. He asked Ramsey County District Judge Richard Kyle for a sentence of just 25 years, saying Castillo was remorseful.

“I’m taking full responsibility for my actions, even if I don’t recall anything that happened that day due to my … drug-induced psychosis,” Castillo told the court.

Prosecutor Dan Rait said Castillo has a history of hurting people who care about him.

The judge sentenced him to 33 1/3 years. In Minnesota, defendants typically serve two-thirds of their sentence in prison and the rest on supervised release.

Castillo had eight prior felony convictions, including second-degree assault for beating another woman with a hammer in 2014. At the time of the knife attack, Castillo was on intensive supervised release and had a warrant out for his arrest after he failed to show up at a court hearing on charges that he assaulted two correctional officers at the Stillwater state prison in 2020.

Members of both Woodhull’s and Castillo’s family urged her not to marry him.

“It’s a testament to the kind of person she was that she went through with it, thinking she could help him,” the prosecutor said. “I can’t believe that she knew her wedding vows would ultimately be her death sentence.”

Woodhull's mother, Linda Castle, said she found divorce papers in her daughter's car after her death.

“She knew it was time to walk away, and that’s why she’s dead,” Castle said.

Castle had a message afterward about domestic violence: "Women need to understand: Don’t accept this kind of behavior. It’s not OK.”