California Murder Suspect Found in Mexico

A California high school teacher suspected of murdering his wife and leaving his children alone with her body for 10 days was arrested Friday in Mexico, police said.

Mexican authorities arrested Robert Castorena, 38, without incident at an apartment in San Miguel de Allende, about 250 miles northwest of Mexico City, Sacramento police said.

The police said they were able to trace Castorena because he had been using his credit and bank cash cards.

Castorena’s wife, Janice, was found dead in their Sacramento home Oct. 13, but police believe she was killed about 12 days earlier. She had a stab wound in her chest and a knife lay nearby, they said.

Castorena spent a couple of days around the house before leaving, police said. They said the couple’s two children had been left alone in the house with the body for about 10 days.

The children, a 14-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, told police their father had threatened them at knifepoint and they were too afraid to seek help. The murder came to light when the boy was caught shoplifting, something he apparently did to draw attention to his plight.

Castorena, 38, was arrested on what would have been his wife’s 39th birthday.

Police believe Castorena had been staying at a rented apartment in San Miguel de Allende since shortly after the murder, Sacramento police spokesman Michael Heenan said. They are not sure how he got there, he said.

Castorena, a social sciences teacher, quit his job at a Sacramento high school in September.

He has been transferred to Mexico City, where extradition hearings will be held, news reports said.

Police believe the Castorenas argued before the murder, but the motive for the killing remained unclear.