SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It's been nearly three decades since the murder of a Sacramento mother in South Land Park at the hands of her husband, former McClatchy High School teacher Robert Castorena.
In October 1996, his two children spent two weeks huddled at home alone before police discovered what happened.
Now, Castorena's son has learned that his father will soon be released from Folsom State Prison on parole.
"It's ridiculous," the junior Castorena said. He asked ABC10 not to release his name or show his face.
In 1996, ABC10 reported that Robert Castorena threatened his children with death if they went into the back bedroom after stabbing and killing his wife, Janice.
"She was just awesome, and my dad was not. He was the exact opposite. He was a coward," the junior Castorena said.
Throughout the parole process, the junior Castorena said he did not see any documents, transcripts or ever receive contact from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation warning him of his father's impending release.
"It's pretty enraging. It feels like the system failed us," Castorena said.
According to court documents, in 1999, Robert Castorena entered a plea of no contest to second-degree murder by reason of insanity, landing him in a state hospital for up to a life term.
After his sanity was deemed restored in 2014, he returned to trial in 2016 and was sentenced to 15 years in state prison.
In March 2024, he was granted parole.
"He's going to be free, and that just seems so wrong on so many levels," the junior Castorena said.
On the afternoon of Aug. 27, ABC10 reached out to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for documentation explaining why Castorena was granted parole, but the inquiry was not immediately returned.
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