Jury sentences Lubbock man to 60 years in prison for severely burning toddler

Prosecutor Laura Beth Fossett told jurors Friday that the little girl whose pictures they saw during the weeklong trial will forever live with the physical and psychological scars Ruben Castillo inflicted when he held her down at a 158-degree angle for minutes. The boiling hot water caused third and fourth degree burns on almost half of his body.

For that, he said the 34-year-old deserved to spend the rest of his life in prison.

“(The girl’s) life will never be what it could have been,” he told jurors. “Her life will always be marked by this defendant and the actions he caused. We seek a life sentence to protect (the girl) and any child who may come into contact with this defendant.”

Castillo faces five years to life in prison after jurors in the 137th District Court returned the verdict Thursday after deliberating for an hour and 40 minutes, finding him guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury to a family member.

Jurors could have recommended that Castillo, who had no prior felony convictions, be placed on probation.

But after more than three hours of deliberation Friday, they decided 60 years in prison was an appropriate punishment for his actions.

He will have to serve half of his sentence before being eligible for parole; That means 30 years, the same time frame for parole eligibility for life imprisonment.

The sentencing followed a week-long trial in which prosecutors presented evidence they believe Castillo deliberately held his girlfriend’s child, who turns 4 this month, in the kitchen sink in 158-degree water until she suffered up to 40 third- and fourth-degree burns. face of your body from your cheeks to your hips

Pictures of the burns and the resulting scars were presented to jurors during the trial.

Meanwhile, defense lawyers argued that the girl’s injuries were accidental.

Their charges stem from a Lubbock police investigation that began after officers were called to University Medical Center, where the boy was taken by ambulance for severe burns.

Jurors testified that Castillo and the girl’s mother first called family members for advice after seeing the girl’s skin peeling. The girl’s mother eventually went to the front office of their apartment and workers there called 911.

Castillo, who has been held in the Lubbock County Detention Center since his arrest on July 20, 2022, did not testify, but jurors watched his interview with detectives; Meanwhile, he said he left the little boy in the sink for a few seconds and believed he kicked him. Turn the faucet handle to the hot setting.

But jurors heard from medical experts that Castillo’s story was inconsistent with the girl’s injuries, which they described as submersion or immersion burns.

Dr. from the UMC burn center. John Griswold told jurors that the burn pattern on the girl’s body indicated she had been immersed in boiling water for several minutes.

He said Castillo’s description of the girl’s burns, which occurred when she tried to escape the sink, indicated injuries from splashing water.

The girl’s injuries required multiple surgeries for external and internal damage, Griswold told jurors.

Third- and fourth-degree burns occur when heat penetrates the skin and destroys fat and muscle, he explained to jurors.

The injuries caused swelling that put pressure on the child’s kidneys and lungs. The burned skin also released toxins into the bloodstream.

Burn patients also lose body fluids, causing dehydration.

The girl’s treatment included skin grafts and decompression surgeries because the swelling in her skin was putting pressure on her kidneys.

Griswold told jurors that her daughter would need laser surgery treatment for the rest of her life and that her injuries would make her susceptible to heatstroke and hypothermia.

“His skin and the blood vessels in it will not be normal for the rest of his life,” he told jurors. “So when he goes out in the heat, he can easily get heatstroke… and because he can’t keep the heat in, he’s more at risk for cold-related problems.”

Meanwhile, pediatrician Dr. who specializes in child abuse injuries. Jennifer Hansen told jurors that a CT scan showed the girl also had a healing fracture at the back of her skull. Bruises were also seen on the girl’s face, arms and feet. The girl also had bruises on her lungs.

Burn patients’ bodies often go into shock six to eight hours after a severe burn and often need fluid therapy, he said. But in the girl’s case, she was already showing signs of shock when she was admitted to hospital and required more fluids than the standard amount.

This delay in treatment nearly cost the girl her life, Griswold said.

Medical records showed that his condition had been critical for nearly two months.

“There were times when it was touch and go,” he told jurors.

Hansen came to the same conclusion as Griswold that the girl had been immersed in boiling water.

“There’s really no other way to get this burn pattern,” he said.

In his closing argument, Fossett told jurors that the evidence showed Castillo acted with intent.

“He had to be held motionless in hot water to cause that serious bodily injury that you saw,” he said.

Prosecutor Cassie Graham told jurors Castillo’s actions amounted to torture.

“This was several minutes of the father figure in the home holding the defendant down while she screamed,” he said.

Defense attorney Chris Wanner argued to jurors that prosecutors failed to prove his client acted deliberately or even recklessly.

He said the case was based on the testimony of experts whose opinions were based on their experience in past cases and anecdotal studies.

But none of them have been able to produce conclusive studies on scald injuries, which opens the door to reasonable doubt, he said.

“I never thought (Castillo) would reach out and hit that hot water (arm),” he said.

To find Castillo guilty, he said, they had to believe he was capable of such a cruel act.

During his closing argument, Wanner played part of Castillo’s interview with detectives, and detectives showed him pictures of the girl’s burns.

Castillo appears upset as he jumps up from his seat and covers his mouth.

“That man who stood up when he saw the photos (of the child). Did that man do this?” Wanner asked. “Did that man hold (the girl) under hot water while she was screaming?”

Fossett told jurors that even Castillo’s story of leaving the girl in the sink showed his recklessness.

But he said the evidence was indisputable that his story was not true.

“This is not the reckless act he described,” he said. “Because his story is not true. Even though he says it over and over again, it’s not true.”

The girl’s biological father, who has full custody of her and her older sister, told jurors that he and his daughter went to a hospital in Galveston every three months, where his daughter underwent laser surgery to help her skin tighten as she grew.

“It’s going really well,” he said. “(He’s) happy.”

She said the highlight of the trip was when they went to the beach before surgery.

However, he cannot fully enjoy the experience as scars on his body limit his movement, and it is unclear whether he will have the appropriate range of motion to learn to swim in the water he loves so much.

In addition, since he is vulnerable to ultraviolet rays from the sun, he has to apply sunscreen even under his clothes.

During the penalty phase of the trial, jurors heard about Castillo’s history with Child Protective Services, which investigated allegations that he physically abused his biological daughter.

Case records show that he refused to participate in reunification services with his children, including attending a substance abuse program.

Records showed that he never passed a drug test during the CPS case, and the court ultimately terminated his parental rights.

Jurors also heard Lubbock County Detention Jail guards tell jurors about two incidents in which he was punished for disrespecting officers and not following rules at the jail.

Castillo’s attorney, Troy Nicholson, asked jurors not to let their emotions guide their decisions.

He told jurors he understood probation was not a possible sentence in this case, but asked jurors to impose a sentence that would allow Castillo to be released from prison and become a productive member of society.

“Think seriously about (Castillo’s) age and how those years will affect where he is (in life),” he said.

In his closing statement, Fossett told jurors that Castillo deserved a life sentence for his actions.

He said Castillo dragged the girl into a difficult life by holding her under boiling water.

He said the girl will always be identified with the scars on her body, and those scars will be a constant reminder of what Carol did to her.

“He has scars on his face and neck that clothes cannot cover,” he said. “(The girl) is of course very beautiful, but she will have to work to see that in herself.”

This article first appeared in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Jury sentences Lubbock man to 60 years in prison for severely burning toddler