Accused murderer of Cynthia Palacio, Linda Carbajal dies in custody

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - A Lubbock man, linked by investigators to the 2003 death of Cynthia Palacio and the 2004 death of her roommate, Linda Carbajal, died while in custody at the Lubbock County Detention Center. The jail roster says Andy Castillo, 58, was “released, deceased” on Friday, Aug. 27 at 4:33 p.m.

The cause of his death was not released at time of death, but officials from the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office say he passed away at University Medical Center. On Nov. 10, officials announced that he died from COVID-19.

Andy Castillo, 57, was arrested by Lubbock PD in January 2020 in connection with the harassment of some Waco-area real estate agents who said they were receiving lewd messages from someone threatening to rape their children.

Castillo was charged with one count of stalking and two counts of criminal solicitation-aggravated sexual assault of a child, relating to the Waco-area cases. Those charges were dropped when the Lubbock County grand jury indicted him on capital murder charges for the deaths of Cynthia Palacio and Linda Carbajal.

Palacio and Carbajal, both 21, were murdered in 2003 and 2004. Their deaths were eventually linked by DNA evidence found at both scenes.

MORE: Arrest made in 2003 cold case murder of Cynthia Palacio

Last September, investigators revealed they linked the DNA evidence from Palacio’s body to Castillo.

According to court documents, DNA evidence was originally taken from Palacio’s thigh and under her fingernails, as well as on her necklace and blouse. After Castillo’s arrest relating to the Waco-area cases, authorities were able to obtain a DNA sample and match it to the DNA found with Palacio.

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