A doctoral student from New York University, who was tragically raped and murdered, once described her brother-in-law as “one of the most wonderful people in the world” in an enthusiastic Facebook post the day he married her sister.
Victoria Castle, in a heartfelt message alongside a wedding photograph of her sister and Joseph Horner, her accused killer, proclaimed, “My sister, my confidante, my partner in chaos, is now married to one of the most wonderful people in the world.”
The post concluded with Castle’s enduring affection: “I love you both forever!” Sadly, these words have taken on a somber tone in light of her untimely demise.
Nearly three years after this touching message, 27-year-old Horner is facing charges for Castle’s gruesome murder. Authorities reported that he allegedly assaulted her sexually and then strangled her while his wife was away at a bachelorette party.
During the arraignment, prosecutors revealed Horner’s decade-long obsession with Castle, an unsettling prelude to the brutal assault that reportedly unfolded in their North Massapequa home on June 29.
Horner – a music teacher in the Oceanside School District – lived in the upstairs apartment of the multi-family house with his wife, while Castle lived in the ground-floor unit, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
He allegedly asked Castle, a PhD student at Stony Brook University, to help him move a piano before attacking her from behind, placing her in a chokehold until she went limp, at which point he stripped her naked and raped her, officials said.
Afterwards, he called 911 and waited for the cops to show up, admitting to detectives that he had committed the heinous act.
He was arrested for homicide at the scene.