A Long Island music teacher allegedly practiced the specific chokehold used to kill his sister-in-law on a stuffed animal just minutes before the fatal attack, nypost.com reported. Prosecutors unsealed a murder indictment against 27‑year‑old Joseph Horner, stating he harbored sexual desires for the victim, Victoria Castle, since 2017.
According to nypost.com, Horner lured the 25‑year‑old PhD student to his North Massapequa home by asking for help moving a keyboard. Instead of assisting, he ambushed her from behind and applied the practiced hold until she lost consciousness. Prosecutors said Horner then raped the victim before waiting calmly on the front doorstep for police arrival.
The report from nypost.com details that Horner maintained a facade of normalcy during the crime, even engaging in a FaceTime call with his wife, who was away on a bachelorette trip, while Castle’s body lay unconscious downstairs. Authorities noted that Horner had previously broken into the victim’s downstairs apartment to view explicit photos. Castle, who had publicly celebrated Horner’s marriage to her sister three years earlier, was pronounced dead at a hospital following the June 28 assault.
Horner, an educator in the Oceanside School District, pleaded not guilty during proceedings where his wife was observed sobbing. A judge ordered him held without bail as prosecutors presented a photo of the defendant practicing the deadly maneuver on a pink stuffed animal.
For more information, visit nypost.com.