Joseph Castorena is a killer from Colorado who would be convicted of four murders near Denver
According to court documents Joseph Castorena would break into the home of his ex girlfriend and while the woman was on the phone with police the 911 operator would hear shots ring out. Apparently the ex girlfriend had filed a restraining order against Castorena a week later
The ex girlfriend and her children were not harmed in the shooting
Joseph Castorena would shoot and kill Maria Serrano, Jesus Serrano, Kenneth Luque, and Rudolfo Perez and injure another person
Before police would arrive Joseph Castorena would flee the area and head to Mexico where he would be arrested months later
Joseph Castorena would be extradited back to Colorado where he was ultimately convicted of four counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. He will be sentenced at a later date
Joseph Castorena Case
A man was convicted Thursday of killing four people at his ex-girlfriend’s home in suburban Denver in 2022 a week after she was granted a court order to keep him away from her.
Joseph Mario Castorena, 22, was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder after deliberation for killing three of Jessica Serrano’s relatives as well as a man who rented an RV on the family’s property in Aurora on Oct. 30, 2022, prosecutors said. He was also convicted of one count of attempted murder.
Castorena and Serrano, who was not injured, have two children together. Their children were out-of-state with family at the time of the shooting, police have said.
Castorena was arrested over a month after the shooting in Mexico and extradited back to Colorado.
Prosecutors alleged that Castorena broke into the home and waited inside with a gun until family members returned home. When Serrano arrived at about 2 a.m., she noticed Castorena’s keys in her bedroom and called police to report that she thought her ex-boyfriend was in the house and that he was not supposed to be there. Shots were fired as she spoke to dispatchers, prosecutors said.
A week before the shooting, Serrano sought a court protective order, saying that Castorena had held a gun at her and threatened to kill her. She also claimed he held her in his car and would not let her go home.
Castorena faces a mandatory life sentence for each of his four first-degree murder convictions when he is sentenced on Sept. 3.