Paul Ray Castillo, the man found guilty of carjacking, robbing, kidnapping, and murdering Cindy Nguyen of Campbell, was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Thursday.
Facing the victim's family before his sentence was read, Castillo apologized for killing Nguyen and "taking her away" from them, prosecutor and Deputy District Attorney James Leonard said.
The case, described as a "crime spree" by police began Sept. 6 and continued until Castillo's arrest on Sept. 18 in Sacramento. See our interactive timeline of this case here.
According to police reports, Nguyen had been shopping at The Plant Shopping Center in San Jose on Sept. 16, 2011 when her car would not start. She called her family for help and . This was the last time her family heard from her.
Castillo, 34, carjacked her white Lexus and kidnapped Nguyen and drove to his sister's home in San Jose, where Nguyen's body was found wrapped in a carpet in the garage, the release stated.
Blindfolded and handcuffed, Nguyen had been shot at close range in the head, with the same .357 Magnum that was used in a shooting of a man at a gas station in San Jose that had occurred the same day.
Leonard said Castillo became tearful while listening to Nguyen's sister and eldest daughter speak about how the murder had affected them.
Castillo also honored the family's request to know for religious reasons the time Nguyen had died. Castillo told them he had murdered her between 1:45 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Sept. 16, 2011, Leonard said.
“For a little bit more than a week, Paul Castillo terrorized and devastated our community," said Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeffrey Rosen in the release. "Now he will spend the rest of his life in prison. He will die behind bars.’’
--Bay City News contributed to this article
