A California man will spend the rest of his life in prison after a jury convicted him of murdering his estranged wife by stabbing her at her apartment.
Zarbab Ali, 28, was found guilty Friday of first-degree murder in the death of 25-year-old Rachel Castillo, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office. Ali will receive a mandatory life prison sentence during a hearing scheduled for Jan. 12.
Castillo was Reported Missing After Her Sister Found a Large Amount of Blood at Her Home
Castillo's family reported her missing on Nov. 10, 2022, after her sister came home to their Simi Valley apartment and found a large amount of blood. Castillo's phone, keys and vehicle were also found at the home.
When cops arrived at the scene, they determined that "a struggle occurred inside" likely resulting in the murder. Three days later, on Nov. 13, 2022, the victim's body was discovered in a remote desert area in the Antelope Valley.
Ali Hid Inside Castillo's Apartment and Stabbed Her to Death When She Emerged Out of Her Room
Ali was arrested the following day. According to a courtroom report from the Ventura County Star, jurors heard Ali's confession to detectives. He explained how he and Castillo had been separated for about nine months and had been thinking about killing her.
On the day of the murder, he picked up their two kids from her apartment and drove them to his parents' home before returning to his wife's home and discovered the door was unlocked.
At first he was spooked when neighbors saw him outside the apartment, but then he saw an opportunity. He went inside and turned the lights off. He lied in wait for Castillo to come out of her bedroom and when she did, he grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed her three times.
Ali Buried Castillo's Body in a Shallow Grave, Returned the Next Day to Have Sex with Her Body
He wrapped her body in a blanket and tried to clean up the scene before he stuffed her remains in his trunk and drove to the remote desert where he buried her in a shallow grave. Ali returned to the area the next day, when he dug her up and had sex with her body.
"Just to confirm that I am a monster, I raped her," he reportedly told detectives. "If I didn't commit to being a monster, then she would have died for no reason."
Ali took the stand in his own defense in a futile attempt to justify his actions to the jury, claiming he became extremely jealous when Castillo wanted a divorce because she had fallen in love with another man.
"She was my entire world at this point, and it all just crashed around me," he reportedly testified. He also said his initial claim to detectives how her death was quick and painless was not exactly true."In reality, she put up a fight," he testified, per the Star. "I was a brute. I pushed her down, and it was gory beyond belief."
