Police still searching for man accused of killing 4 in Aurora
A manhunt is underway for a man accused of shooting and killing four people in Aurora over the weekend and police are asking the public to call 911 if they see him. Court records also show some of his victims received restraining orders days before the attack after reporting he threatened their lives and had a violent history.
Joseph Castorena, 21, evaded police as they responded to the shooting on Sunday despite officers arriving within 3 minutes of a 911 call, Chief Dan Oates said in a Sunday news conference. The suspect remained at-large as of late Monday, Aurora Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Faith Goodrich said.
The shooting occurred shortly after 2 a.m. at a home near 11th Avenue and North Geneva Street in Aurora. Dispatchers could hear shots during a 911 call made by a woman in the home, Oates said. Police later determinednts to be Castorena’s former partner.
Police discovered one woman and three men dead from apparent gunshot wounds upon arrival and identified Castorena as a suspect, Oates said. Castorena’s former partner and two young children in the home survived unharmed.
Law enforcement searched the residential area that night and again in the morning, deploying drones and canvassing the neighborhood to no avail.
Goodrich did not have information about Castorena’s potential whereabouts or where police were searching come Monday evening, but said law enforcement have been looking for him since the attack occurred. The department is still working out details of how the shooting unfolded and a possible motive, Goodrich said.
“It’s a large scene. There is a lot of evidence to collect, witnesses to talk to,” she said.
A warrant was issued for Castorena’s arrest on four counts of first degree murder after deliberation, class 1 felonies, according to online court records. Goodrich confirmed some of Castorena’s victims had received restraining orders against him and were residents of the home.
The Arapahoe County Coroner’s office has not released the victims’ names. A relative of the family told the Denver Gazette’s news partner 9news that those killed were Jesus Serrano, his daughter Mariana Serrano, and Mariana’s partner, Ken.
Jesus’ daughter, also Mariana’s twin sister, was Castorena’s former partner, the relative said. The relative said a man renting an RV on the property was the fourth victim. The relative could not be immediately reached for comment.
Court records show the Serranos were granted restraining orders against Castorena days before the shooting. The family told the courts Castorena had a violent, abusive history and had threatened to kill them.
At the time, the family said the most recent incident occurred on Oct. 22, when Castorena’s partner did not come home from work when expected.
The family said in their petitions for temporary restraining orders obtained by the Denver Gazette that when Castorena’s partner came home a day later, her arms were covered in cuts, and she still had broken glass on her. She told her family Castorena had waited at her car at her place of work, broken her car window, used a gun to threaten her, and forced her to stay with him that night, the family wrote.
In past incidents, Castorena “told me that he was going to kill me,” Jesus wrote, also saying Castorena harassed him at his house. Maria described the fatigue her family was feeling after numerous incidents through Castorena’s relationship with her sister, and a desire to protect her family.
“My family and I have been going through all of this for three years straight,” she wrote.




