Bio

Engelica E. Castillo was born in 1990.

She is a cousin of Melissa Swiontek. Their families were close and often helped each other with childcare. They spent holidays and birthdays together.

Castillo worked as a babysitter. In 2009 she was 18 and living in Hobart with her then-boyfriend, Timothy Tkachik.

Her defense attorneys said she had been sexually abused as a child and that she grew up in a violent home.

Murder Story

Engelica E. Castillo was born in 1990. She was the babysitter of 2-year-old Jada Justice. The date of the murder is listed as June 13, 2009. The method of death is recorded as a beating. Castillo was arrested on June 25, 2009.

Castillo was charged with murder, neglect of a dependent, battery, and false informing. A jury convicted her in August 2010. The court sentenced her to life in prison without the possibility of parole on September 8, 2010.

The Indiana Supreme Court reviewed the case and on July 30, 2012 reduced Castillo’s sentence to 65 years in prison. The court said the life-without-parole sentence was inappropriate given her role in the crime and found problems with the prosecutor’s closing argument. The court ordered that Castillo be returned to Lake County for resentencing.

A co-defendant, Timothy Tkachik, pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent and battery and testified against Castillo. He faced a maximum sentence of 50 years.

The victim was Jada Justice, age 2. The location of the case was Lake County, Indiana, USA. The final recorded status is that Castillo’s sentence was reduced to 65 years.