Harris County Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded last night to a home in the 4400 block of Sandydale Ln, near John F. Kennedy Blvd and Aldine Mail Route Rd, after an out-of-state man requested a welfare check. According to HCSO Homicide Sgt. Michael Ritchie, the caller said his brother had told him he killed his girlfriend.
Deputies located 23-year-old Jose Orozco unresponsive inside the residence with multiple stab wounds. Orozco was pronounced deceased at the scene.
HCSO has identified the suspect as 20-year-old Jaime Castillo. Investigators determined that Orozco and Castillo had been in an intimate relationship. The case is being investigated as an intimate-partner/domestic violence homicide.
During the initial briefing, Sgt. Ritchie said both HCSO and HPD dispatch received calls from Castillo’s brother, who was outside Texas. HPD initially responded to an address within city limits but found nothing related to the call. Additional information provided other possible locations, eventually leading HCSO Deputies to the home on Sandydale Ln.
According to the preliminary briefing, Orozco lived at the home with other family members. Investigators did not believe Castillo lived there, although he may have visited previously.
Orozco was found in a room that appeared to have been added after the home was built and was separated from the rest of the house. Investigators said that layout may explain why family members were unaware Orozco was there until Deputies arrived.
HPD located Castillo and took him into custody. Following consultation with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Castillo was charged with Murder and booked into the Harris County Jail.
HCSO Homicide and crime scene investigators processed the scene, with HPD officers assisting by sharing information gathered during their response.
The investigation remains ongoing. The charge is an allegation, and Castillo is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
