Mom got mad at her. So daughter, 29, suffocated and set her afire, police say

A woman who told police that her mother was hurting her, was charged with first-degree murder Wednesday after police found burnt clothing and charred bones at the South Miami-Dade property where the woman lived with her mother.

Sasha Gonzalez, 29, told police she paid someone $50 to hurt her mother but not to kill her. But after interviews and gathering evidence, police believe that Gonzalez, her boyfriend and his brother suffocated the woman, set her body afire in the home’s yard and tried to hide the bones.

Gonzalez was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence. Her boyfriend Yancel Castillo, 30, was arrested and charged with accessory after the fact, tampering with physical evidence and abusing a dead human body. Gonzalez was denied bond. Castillo’s bond was set at $25,000. Both were taken to the Turner Guilford Knight correctional center.

By late Wednesday afternoon police had not released the name of the dead woman. Miami-Dade property records show the homeowner of the property where the alleged murder took place to be Hilda Gonzalez, 70.

“They haven’t positively identified the remains,” said Miami-Dade police spokesman Lee Cowart.

Police said they received a call asking that they check on the woman living in the home at 22362 SW 127th Pl., just after noon on Wednesday. Police couldn’t get in. But, they said, Sasha Gonzalez showed up while they were there and allowed them inside.

Soon, police said, they found burnt clothing in the front yard, bones in a trash bin in front of the home and a large charred area on the side of the home. They also said there was a strong scent of chlorine in the air.

The uniformed patrol called detectives, who interviewed Sasha Gonzalez. Detectives said Sasha Gonzalez told them that her boyfriend’s brother Santy Castillo stayed at the family’s home last Friday and that her mother wasn’t happy about it. Police said Castillo then stayed at the home against Gonzalez’s mothers wishes.

On Sunday, according to police, Santy Castillo and Sasha Gonzalez removed the door knob to the mother’s bedroom and entered. Gonzalez then lifted her mother’s head and Santy Castillo placed the bag over it in order to suffocate her, police said. Police said Sasha Gonzalez told them that the next morning, on Monday, that she watched as the brothers carried her mother’s remains out of the house, place branches over her and set her on fire.

Gonzalez said the men then dragged a large Miami-Dade garbage bin around back of the home to try and hide the evidence.

Sasha Gonzalez and Yancel Castillo have a child together. As of late Wednesday afternoon, Santy Castillo had not been charged with a crime and was still being interviewed by detectives.