After killing mother, couple sets body on fire, throws remains in trash, police say

Sasha Gonzalez accused of killing mother while boyfriend helped get rid of body

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. ā€“ Hilda Gonzalez had vanished.Ā When Miami-Dade police officers arrived atĀ the 70-year-old woman's houseĀ in Goulds, there was burned clothing in the front yard and what appeared to be human bones in a trash bin. There wasĀ alsoĀ a large charred area on the ground byĀ the side of the houseĀ at 22362 SW 127th Place.Ā Ā 

When officersĀ walked inside, it smelled like Clorox bleach. They reported findingĀ the open containers of CloroxĀ in Gonzalez'sĀ bedroom.

Miami-Dade police detectives questioned her daughter, Sasha Gonzalez, who saidĀ that what the officers had seen outside of the home were her mother's remains. The 29-year-old woman gave detectives two different versions about what happened, according to the police report releasedĀ Wednesday.Ā 

Detectives didn't believe either one of them.Ā She first told them that she had paidĀ someone $50 to hurt her mother, but she didn't think whoever did itĀ would kill her. SheĀ later blamed her boyfriend's brother, Santy Castillo.Ā 

According to the report, Sasha Gonzalez claims her mother had an argument with her boyfriend'sĀ 21-year-old brother, who didn't have permission to live at the home, but had chosen to spend the night there anyway.Ā 

The charred remains of Hilda Gonzalez, 70, were found outside her home and in a trash bin.

Hilda Gonzalez was sleeping in her locked bedroom Sunday night when Sasha Gonzalez removed the doorknob from her bedroom door, according to the report.

Sasha Gonzalez told detectives that she lifted her mother's headĀ while SantyĀ CastilloĀ placedĀ a black trash bag over herĀ head to suffocate her, according to the report. She didn't explain the blood that detectives believe she tried to clean up with the Clorox.Ā 

She did tellĀ detectives her 31-year-old boyfriend helped hisĀ brother getĀ rid of her mother's body.

Her boyfriend,Ā Yancel Castillo, told detectives he saw blood in the bedroom, the bathroom, the mattress and on his girlfriend's clothing and sandals.Ā 

Gonzalez claimed the brothersĀ carriedĀ her mother's body from her bedroom to the side yard, gathered tree branches, set herĀ body on fireĀ and put her remains inside a Miami-Dade County trash bin, according to the report.Ā 

Miami-Dade police find the charred remains of Hilda Gonzalez, 70, by the side of her home.

Yancel Castillo told detectives he also removed a bloodstained mattress out of the home, police said. Authorities said heĀ wanted to set it on fire too, but Sasha Gonzalez stopped him and said she would clean it instead. GonzalezĀ said sheĀ was a using a mop and household cleaners, according to the report.Ā 

Two sisters who live in the neighborhood told Local 10 News that they saw the fire on their way to work. They pulled over to alert whoever was inside before noticing the fires were intentional.Ā 

"We knew that something was not right," one of the sisters said.Ā 

Gonzalez faces charges ofĀ first-degree murder and tampering withĀ evidence. She wasĀ being held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Yancel Castillo faces charges of accessory after the fact, tampering with evidence and abuse of a body. He was held on a $25,000 bond. His brother has been questioned by police, but has not been arrested.Ā 

Neighbors, meanwhile, told Local 10 News that they're losing sleep after learning about the harrowing details.

"Just to know that this poor woman went through that. Nobody was there to help her," one neighbor said.


About the Authors:

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.

Saira Anwer joined the Local 10 News team in July 2018. Saira is two-time Emmy-nominated reporter and comes to South Florida from Madison, Wisconsin, where she was working as a reporter and anchor.