VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (TCN) — A man has been found guilty of first-degree murder after fatally stabbing his estranged wife in 2022, burying her body, then digging up and raping her corpse the next day.
According to a news release from the Ventura County District Attorney, on Nov. 21, a jury convicted Zarbab Ali, 28, of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Rachel Castillo, 25. He is facing a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole. Ali had previously pleaded guilty to a felony charge of sexual contact with the victim’s remains after her death.
At the time of Castillo’s murder, the couple was in the process of divorcing.
Castillo was last seen on Nov. 10, 2022, after dropping their two children off with Ali for the day, KTTV reports. Castillo lived in Simi Valley, California, with her sister. When her sister returned to the apartment they shared, she found a large quantity of blood along with Castillo’s keys, car, and phone.
FBI and Simi Valley Police discovered Castillo’s body Nov. 13, 2022 in a remote desert area. Ali was arrested later that day outside his parents’ house in Victorville, California, according to the district attorney.
Ali was interviewed several times on Nov. 13 by detectives and confessed to the killing Castillo, the Ventura County Star reports. Ali told detectives he dropped their children off with his parents and then went to Castillo’s apartment, which he found unlocked.
He hid and waited for Castillo and stabbed her three times when she entered her bedroom. He then wrapped her body in a blanket and buried her in a shallow grave in a remote area in Antelope Valley.
He told detectives he returned the next day, dug up her body, and raped her remains. In a taped interview obtained by the Ventura County Star, he said he did it to confirm he was a “monster.” “If I didn’t commit to being a monster, then she would have died for no reason,” he said.
Ali told detectives he was jealous of Castillo’s relationships with other men and was unhappy with his own living situation, including their custody arrangement and paying child support, according to the Ventura County Star.
At the time of her murder, Castillo was studying for a master’s degree in clinical psychology, KTTV reports. She had planned to become a marriage and family therapist.
Ali’s sentencing is scheduled for January 12, 2026.
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