Mystery Solved

Last year, there was a hit and run just about a block and a half from my home, at this intersection. Rachel Gilliam, a popular 25-year-old bartender was struck and killed by a car that ran a stop sign at the intersection at 3:40 am, November 1, Halloween night. I alluded to it in a post on my old blog earlier this year. I found it horribly tragic that a person so young and full of promise died, but it shook me up personally-- I walk, ride my bike and drive through that intersection easily a dozen times a week. It's about 150 feet from where I work; it could easily have been me that was hit.

There were witnesses, but they were only able to say that a silver Acura hit her. There seemed to be little hope of bringing the culprit to justice. Undoubtedly, whoever did it had been drinking, given the date and the hour. The family hired a private investigator and offered a reward, blanketing the neighborhood with posters.

It turned out, though, that the security camera of a jewelry store a couple blocks down caught the incident. The camera couldn't show the license plate, but it did show that there were three people in the car. The police got a tip about a silver Acura with damage consistent with the incident. The police were soon in possession of the car and were able to question the two passengers, who co-owned the car with the culprit.

It turned out that the perpetrator, Carlos Castillo was also young-- 23 years old. He had no driver's license and a long rap sheet. It's suspected that he's left the country.

As someone who has dealt with the violent death of someone close to me, I know that knowing who was responsible provides some closure. The ultimate closure will be when he's caught. Guys like him are usually none too smart. I'm confident justice will be served eventually.