Lubbock Man Charged with Two Early-2000s Murders Dies in Custody
A Lubbock man died while in police custody on Friday, August 27th, 2021.
The Lubbock County Sheriff's Office says 58-year-old Andy Castillo passed away at University Medical Center at 4:33 p.m. The cause of death was not listed, just labeled "released, deceased."
Castillo was accused of murdering two women in the early 2000s. A Lubbock County Grand Jury indicted Castillo for Capital Murder in December 2020 for strangling Linda Carbajal in April 2004 and Cynthia Palacio in July 2003. Both were separate incidents.
Palacio's body was found in a field near Slaton. Less than one year later, Carbajal's body was found along a dirt road in Lubbock County near New Deal.
Before being charged with the murders of Carbajal and Palacio, Lubbock police arrested Castillo in January 2020 and discovered an arrest warrant based in McLennan County.
Everything Lubbock reports Castillo had multiple accusations of cyberstalking at the time. Castillo allegedly sent sexually explicit and threatening messages to several women and children across multiple states.
Castillo voluntarily gave a DNA sample that led authorities to discover the same DNA on Palacio's body. After the capital murder indictment, Castillo faced up to life in prison.