Minnesota man sentenced to 33 years in prison for stabbing wife to death during Bible study

St. Paul, Minnesota – A Minnesota man was sentenced to over 33 years in prison for stabbing his wife to death during a Bible study.

Robert Castillo, 41, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in March, apologized in court Friday for the killing of his wife, Corinna Woodhull, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. They were married for about two years and have five children, now ages 11 to 24.

Castillo's sister told police she held a weekly Bible study at her home in St. Paul. On the evening of March 21, 2023, the couple was sitting on a couch when Castillo whispered something in Woodhull's ear. After she shook her head in denial, Castillo pulled out a hunting knife and stabbed her multiple times until his own family disarmed him.

His attorney, Mark Austin, told the court that Castillo's last memory as a free man was early that morning when he got high with a friend and drank so much that he couldn't remember what happened afterward. He asked Ramsey County District Judge Richard Kyle for a sentence of just 25 years, saying Castillo was remorseful.

“I take full responsibility for my actions, even though I do not remember anything that happened that day due to my … drug-induced psychosis,” Castillo said in court.

Prosecutor Dan Rait said Castillo had a history of hurting people he cared about.

The judge sentenced him to 33 1/3 years. In Minnesota, defendants typically serve two-thirds of their sentence in prison and the rest on probation.

Castillo had eight previous felony convictions, including second-degree assault for hitting another woman with a hammer in 2014. At the time of the stabbing attack, Castillo was on intensive probation and had a warrant out for his arrest after he failed to appear for a court hearing on charges that he attacked two correctional officers at Stillwater State Prison in 2020.

Members of Woodhull and Castillo's families urged her not to marry him.

“It's a testament to the kind of person she was that she went through with it because she thought she could help him,” the prosecutor said. “I can't believe she knew that her marriage vows would ultimately be her death sentence.”

Woodhull's mother, Linda Castle, said she found divorce papers in the car after her daughter's death.

“She knew it was time to go, and that's why she's dead,” Castle said.

Castle then had a message on the subject of domestic violence: “Women need to understand: Do not accept this behavior. It is not okay.”