SAN ANTONIO – *Editor’s Note: This story contains gruesome details from an arrest affidavit that people may find extremely disturbing.
A day following the arrest of a suspect in connection to a gruesome slaying of a San Antonio woman, an arrest affidavit has revealed disturbing details surrounding her death.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar on Wednesday said that Rafael Castillo, 26, was arrested on a murder charge in the death of Nicole Perry, whose body was found on Nov. 19.
Her body, which was wrapped inside a black trash bag, was found by a Public Works Department crew assigned to clean up trash in the area near the 9200 block of South W.W. White Road.
Investigators found a second trash bag nearby that contained a small gift bag that was “tied in a peculiar manner,” the affidavit states. Those bags contained torn pieces of a receipt for a gun that was reported stolen out of San Antonio.
Investigators said the serial number on the receipt was checked, and Castillo was listed as a suspect in that theft case. The gun was described as 9mm and pink camouflaged.
Receipts at the scene led them to a house in the 300 block of W. Harlan Ave, where they detained 10 people on Nov. 21, not including Castillo.
While some witnesses did not respond to questioning, the affidavit states, at least two stated they overheard that Castillo killed Perry in front of her fiancé. The individuals were released after questioning, officers said.
The woman’s fiance, who was later arrested for violation of his sex offender registration, told authorities that he and Perry were homeless and were offered a place to stay at the house on Harlan.
He said Perry “had lost her father” earlier in the year “and was not the same after,” which caused her to have frequent outbursts, the affidavit states.
He added the outbursts “quickly began to annoy Rafael.” At some point, Castillo told Perry to “shut up before he shut her up,” investigators said.
Castillo then allegedly tied up Perry with duct tape and threatened her fiance with a pink camouflaged gun and told him to stay, according to the document.
Investigators said Castillo dismembered her hands with a machete while she was still alive. He then took an ax and struck her in the head, according to the affidavit.
The fiance told authorities that he was “forced to clean up the scene under duress and he was scared for his life.”
Another man who lived in the house on Harlan stated he walked into a room to find the woman with an ax sticking out of her head and Castillo standing over her while cleaning his hands, authorities said. Castillo told that man that he killed her because she “disrespected” his name, according to the document.
A witness said they were called to the house to help dispose of a “large package,” which they later discovered was Perry’s body. The witness said they left the square-shaped package off W.W. White.
When they returned to the home, the same man who walked in on the slaying gave the witness a crockpot, saying “you forgot these.” Inside the crockpot, investigators say, were human hands with painted fingernails.
The autopsy revealed the woman had a deep cut to the head about four inches in length. Her body had visible markings from being restrained and her hands had been severed.
Investigators are still searching for body parts.
Salazar said Castillo was arrested in Brownsville, and BCSO is not ruling out further arrests.
Castillo was arrested with assistance from the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, BCSO said.
His bond was set at $500,000, booking records show.
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