QUEENS — An East Elmhurst man was given two consecutive life sentences for brutally murdering his girlfriend and her daughter with a hammer because he believed they were witches and casting spells on him, the Queens District Attorney said Thursday.
Carlos Alberto Amarillo, 48, fatally beat Estrella Castaneda, 56, and her daughter, Lina Castaneda, 25, while Lina's daughter was in the room inside their home on 87th Street on Jan. 29, 2014. He then called 911 and said he “assassinated” the women with a hammer because “they are witches.”
Amarillo was holding a Bible when police arrived and told the officers the women were “performing voodoo and casting spells” on him.
“This defendant will rightfully spend the rest of his natural life behind bars for fatally beating to death his girlfriend and her daughter — who was the mother of a young child who also happened to be in the residence that night but fortunately was not harmed,” DA Richard Brown said in a statement.
A jury convicted Amarillo in June of murder, criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child.
Justice Michael Aloise sentenced him in Queens Supreme Court Thursday.
His lawyer did not return an immediate request for comment.
