Hearing for Alfredo Castellanos-Rosales, man charged with murder in Dakota Dunes

UNION COUNTY, SD (KTIV) – A motions hearing was held in Union County, South Dakota on Friday, October 4, 2024, as the murder case against Alfredo Castellanos-Rosales continues.

In a hearing at 9 a.m. Friday, the state called a former associate of Castellanos-Rosales to the stand to discuss a conversation they had a week before Jordan Beardshear was killed.

Castellanos-Rosales is charged with first-degree murder for the April 25, 2023, death of Beardshear, who was found dead in her Dakota Dunes apartment on April 26, 2023. Her young son, whom she shared with Castellanos-Rosales, was not found in the apartment and was reported missing.

The co-worker, who worked with Castellanos-Rosales at Tyson Foods in Dakota City, said they talked frequently at work but were not friends outside of their shifts at Tyson Foods. Through an interpreter, Armando Sanchez said Castellanos-Rosales talked about the problems he was having with Beardshear and that he looked “sad” and “upset” when he talked about her.

Sanchez was questioned by investigators after Castellanos-Rosales, who was arrested in Mexico a few weeks after the murder, failed to report to work.

Another request filed by the state looked at cell phone data collected by investigators from Castellanos-Rosales' cell phone, Beardshear's cell phone and the cell phone of Castellanos-Rosales' wife, Reyna Castellanos.

Reyna Castellanos is charged with murder herself. She pleads not guilty to two counts of aiding and abetting a crime and other counts.

On the witness stand Friday in Union County Court, two South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation agents testified about cell phone data they obtained both with and without a search warrant in the hours after Beardshear's body was discovered.

Investigators “pinged” Castellanos-Rosales’ cellphone before obtaining a search warrant to locate him and the child he shared with Beardshear.

“We have a child who is missing,” South Dakota DCI Agent Matthew Glenn recalled of the first hours of the investigation. In time-critical cases, such as a missing child, investigators often obtain cell phone data before issuing an official search warrant.

Investigators already saw Castellanos-Rosales, the child's father, as a possible suspect. The first “ping” from his cell phone came around 11:30 a.m. the morning Beardshear's body was discovered. The last “ping” sounded at 1:33 p.m. before the phone was turned off, investigators say.

“There was a reasonable belief that (Castellanos-Rosales) did not want to be found by law enforcement,” Glenn said.

Authorities later obtained the search warrant for the cell phone records of Castellanos-Rosales, his wife Reyna Castellanos and Beardshear, which was received on April 26, 2023, shortly after 5 p.m.

The infant's “last known location was with Jordan at her apartment,” DCI Agent Jon Basche said on the witness stand. “We learned that (Castellanos-Rosales) had planned to pick up (the child) the previous night.”

Both investigators said authorities' priority was locating Beardshear's son. They discussed activating an Amber Alert when cell phone data helped authorities find the missing child who was allegedly dropped off at his grandmother's home by Castellanos-Rosales on the night of April 25, 2023.

Investigators quickly noticed that Beardshear's cell phone was not in the apartment where she was murdered. Her cell phone was discovered shortly after midnight on April 27, 2023, in a wooded area of ​​War Eagle Park in Sioux City.

Basche said a search of Beardshear's phone revealed that Castellanos-Rosales texted her “here” on April 25, 2023, at 8:52 p.m. Two minutes later, at 8:54 p.m., he called her. This phone call lasted 12 seconds.

At 8:56 p.m., according to authorities, Beardshear's cell phone received a call via an app from a program that allows guests at her apartment complex to gain access to the building.

Beardshear's cell was locked at 8:56 p.m. and never unlocked again until authorities unlocked it for their investigation.

Investigators also found a photo on her cell phone that Beardshear had taken from a mirror at 6 p.m. the night of her murder. In this photo, investigators say she was wearing the same clothing as when she was murdered. Investigators also found that Beardshear sent someone a Snapchat that included a screenshot of a conversation she had with Castellanos-Rosales, including the text “This is the bullshit I have to deal with” in the snap. had inserted.

Castellanos-Rosales' cell phone was located near Beardshear's apartment between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. on April 25. Cell phone data also shows that Castellanos-Rosales was near the same location as Beardshear's phone. The two DCI investigators also testified about the mapping data they compiled from the three cell phones. More of this data is likely to be revealed during the trial.

Castellanos-Rosales is scheduled to go on trial in February 2025. Castellanos-Rosales is charged with first-degree murder, aiding and abetting the neglect of a child and aiding and abetting the abuse of a child. He pleaded not guilty to these charges. On April 27, an arrest warrant was issued for Castellanos-Rosales. He was arrested in Mexico on May 12 and returned to South Dakota on June 8.

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