A California man will die in prison for the calculated murder of his estranged wife and the subsequent abuse of her corpse, a judge ruled this week.
Zarbab Ali, 29, was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for killing Rachael Castillo, a 25-year-old mother of two whose divorce from Ali was nearly final. The Ventura County District Attorney detailed how Ali, after dropping off their children at his parents’ home, returned to the Simi Valley apartment where Castillo was staying alone.
“Knowing Ms. Castillo would be alone, he found the front door unlocked, went inside, turned off the lights, and waited for her to exit a bedroom,” prosecutors stated. “He then confronted her in a dark, confined hallway and stabbed her 11 times in the neck and chest.”
Ali then wrapped Castillo’s body in a blanket, cleaned the scene, and placed her in his car’s trunk, which investigators said he had preemptively left open. He drove her body to a remote desert area near Littlerock, buried her in a shallow grave with a newly purchased shovel, and returned to his parents’ house.
The crime escalated further. Hours later, around 2:00 a.m., Ali drove back to the gravesite. He exhumed Castillo’s remains, sexually assaulted them, and reburied her. He later confessed to this act during a police interrogation, a video of which was shown at trial.
Castillo was reported missing by her sister after she discovered signs of a struggle. Police found Castillo’s remains on November 13, 2022, three days after the murder. Ali was arrested the same day, ABC reports.
At sentencing, victim impact statements painted a portrait of a vibrant life stolen. Family remembered Castillo as “a devoted mother, loving sister, a daughter, and a friend,” who had just begun a master’s program at Pepperdine University and “had dreams for her and her boys’ future.”
Addressing Ali directly, Castillo’s family condemned his brutality. “You are here because you are a coward,” they stated. Confronted with responsibility, “you turned to violence.” They spoke, they said, for “two innocent children whose lives were forever changed.”
Ali pleaded guilty to mutilation and sexual contact with human remains and was convicted of first-degree murder, ensuring he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
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