BRONX MAN SENTENCED TO A TERM OF UP TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT
FOR MURDERING HIS FIANCÉ AND ATTEMPTING TO MURDER HER MOTHER

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that Rafael Castro, 26, has been sentenced to a term of up to life imprisonment for the stabbing death of his fiancé, Vanessa Reynoso, 21, and the attempted murder of her mother.

A jury found Castro, of 1013 Freeman Street, guilty earlier this month, of one count of Murder in the 2nd degree, one count of Attempted Murder in the 2nd degree, and two counts of Endangering the welfare of a child.

Acting State Supreme Court Justice Judith Leib sentenced Castro to a term of twenty-five years to life imprisonment on the charge of murder, and a term of twenty-five years imprisonment on the charge of attempted murder to be served consecutively, meaning the defendant must serve a minimum of fifty years in prison before being considered for parole.

Nearly two years ago, Castro stabbed Reynoso numerous times in the head and neck and struck the deceased woman's mother, Miriam Rivas, 50, in the head causing serious physical injury. The brutal stabbing and assault occurred in Reynoso's apartment in the presence of the couple's daughters' who were six years old and eighteen months old when their mother was killed on May 13, 2004.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney David Birnbaum, Trial Counsel, Domestic Violence Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Peter Coddington, Chief Appellate Attorney.