A Hialeah man who stabbed his mother to death eight years ago was declared not guilty by reason of insanity Thursday.
"I wish you, I wish your family peace, I hope you get help," Miami-Dade Judge Nushin Sayfie said after announcing her decision in Ariel Castro's case.
Castro, 46, was facing second-degree murder charges in the 2008 stabbing of mother Maria Hernandez. Several detectives testified during last month's bench trial.
"I remember him saying that his mother did not deserve what he did to her and that he had a lot of anger built up in him," homicide detective Barbaro Hernandez testified.
Castro's stepfather found Hernandez dead in a pool of blood. She died of multiple stab wounds to the heart and lungs. Castro also stabbed himself in the neck.
In 2001, a doctor had diagnosed Castro with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia when he attacked his father with a hammer. A court order sent him to live in an assisted living facility.
But after a few years, his mother asked for his release, which later proved tragic. Castro's brother and stepfather attended the bench trial every day and were there for the judge's verdict Thursday. But they did not want to say anything.
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In the meantime, Castro will be living in a psychiatric hospital from now on. But if doctors determine that he is sane at some point while he's in the hospital, he will stand trial again and could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
