A victim’s relatives felt “very letdown” after a 42-year-old Burien man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the stabbing death of his former wife last year in Kent.
Telesforo Hernandez-Roa, also known as Juan Hernandez, pleaded guilty Tuesday in King County Superior Court to killing Ruth Castillo-Yanez, 39, of Federal Way, on July 20, 2014. Kent Police found the woman dead in the backseat of her red Nissan Pathfinder in the Metro Park & Ride lot in the 23400 block of Military Road South. Prosecutors say Hernandez-Roa stabbed Castillo-Yanez at least 25 times.
“The family feels very letdown by all of this,” said Leonard Castillo, a cousin of the victim, in an email to the Kent Reporter. “We don’t understand considering the facts of the case why the prosecutor did not pursue a first-degree murder charge and is settling for the path of least resistance and sticking with the second-degree murder charge.
“My poor cousin Ruth was butchered by this monster. She was stabbed over 24 times and left to die in her car. I would like to see justice in this case and I am concerned for the safety of my family that of the public.”
Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, said prosecutors charged Hernandez-Roa with second-degree murder with a deadly weapon enhancement but decided against going for a first-degree murder charge, which requires premeditation.
“The case was reviewed thoroughly and there was insufficient evidence to establish it was premeditated beyond a reasonable doubt,” Donohoe said during a phone interview.
Hernandez-Roa faces a sentence range of 12 years to 20 years. Prosecutors are recommending a sentence of 16 years, Donohoe said. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, Dec. 18 before Judge Laura Middaugh in Courtroom 3J of the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
“It’s still a substantial sentence he’s facing,” Donohoe said.
Castilo disagreed.
“I don’t feel that 16 years is a substantial sentence,” he said. “I know that there isn’t enough years that could make things right or bring Ruth back, but I feel that it is the prosecutor’s and the state’s responsibility to ensure that something so tragic like this never happens again.”
The defense attorney for the defendant approached the prosecutor with an offer to plead guilty to manslaughter, said Castillo, which prosecutors and the victim’s family declined.
Family and friends of Castillo-Yanez plan to write letters to the judge to ask for the maximum sentence, Castillo said. They also will get a chance to testify in court at the sentencing.
Castillo, who lives in Lake Forest, Calif., said Castillo-Yanez grew up in Lake Forest and most of her family lives there although she has two brothers who live in Kent. She also is survived by her mother and two daughters. Castillo-Yanez is buried at Fairhaven cemetery in Santa Ana, Calif.
According to charging papers, an autopsy showed that Castillo-Yanez had wounds on her left forearm and left and right fingers which were consistent with defensive injuries.
Seattle Police contacted Kent Police after Hernandez-Roa told Seattle Police officers that he had an altercation with his wife earlier in the day on July 20. He told police he had learned Castillo-Yanez was cheating on him and the man she was dating had recently sent naked photos of her to him. Police took Hernandez-Roa into custody after finding the body. He refused to answer any questions and asked for an attorney. Detectives searched Hernandez-Roa’s vehicle and found a dress shirt and white T-shirt with a significant amount of blood on them. Police also found a man’s wristwatch and wedding ring with blood on them. Hernandez-Roa had no visible injuries.
Hernandez-Roa and Castillo-Yanez reportedly were last seen heading out to dinner earlier that fatal night. They commonly met at the Kent/Des Moines Park & Ride lot.
Castillo-Yanez called her then-18-year-old daughter the evening of the murder, according to court documents. The daughter told detectives her mother’s voice sounded stressed and she was on the verge of crying. The daughter sensed something was wrong and that her mother might be with Hernandez-Roa. But her mother was evasive and wouldn’t say if she was with her ex-husband or where she was.
Ruth Castillo-Yanez was never heard from again.
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