John Jefferson
Inset: Kirsten Castle (GoFundMe). Background: The house in San Mateo, California, where Castle was strangled to death (Google Maps).
A cascading tragedy in the San Francisco Bay Area unfolded for multiple families earlier this month when a pregnant mother of four was strangled to death — just weeks before her fifth child was due.
Calcifying the horror of the loss, the body of Kirsten Castle, 37, was discovered on the night of Aug. 4 by her 10-year-old daughter.
Andrew Coleman, 32, stands accused of two counts of murder in the first degree, according to San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and jail records. The premeditated homicide charges for the death of Castle and their unborn child also carry special circumstances allegations, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
On the night in question, the 10-year-old girl — the victim’s daughter from a prior relationship — was dropped off at home on South B Street. She found her mother dead, naked from the waist up, in a family room and dialed 911, according to The Mercury News.
The father of Castle’s four surviving children started a GoFundMe to help the family hit with “heartbreaking tragedy.”
“Kirsten was very self-driven and focused,” Darryl Harvey wrote in the fundraiser description. “She was a great mother to her four children and a strong, resilient woman. This devastating loss has left our family, friends, and neighbors reeling. While we cannot erase the pain of this unimaginable event, we can come together to support those left behind.”
“The lives lost were precious and full of promise,” the woman’s estranged husband added.
Paramedics determined both Castle, who was nearly nine months pregnant, and the unborn baby were dead at the scene of the crime, according to CBS News. Coleman was immediately identified as the lead suspect, partly because he was not at the residence when the child made the grim discovery and harrowing call to first responders.
The defendant is believed to be the father of the unborn child who was murdered, investigators said, according to San Francisco-based The CW affiliate KRON.
Hours later, the defendant was in custody.
Coleman allegedly stole Castle’s vehicle and a safe containing $37,000 cash from the woman’s residence — where she allowed him to live. During his arrest, investigators allegedly found the stolen safe in the stolen car.
In comments to San Jose-based NBC affiliate KNTV, Castle’s mother said Coleman also took his clothes with him when he fled south.
Using license plate readers, authorities in the Los Angeles County city of West Covina — which is located some 19 miles east of downtown in the city of Los Angeles — tracked the car down and arrested the man on suspicion of murder. San Mateo County law enforcement then traveled to Southern California to speak with Coleman. He was subsequently charged with murder and taken back up north.
The defendant appeared at an initial arraignment on Tuesday but a plea was not entered. He is slated for another hearing on Sept. 4.
Coleman is being detained in the Maguire Correctional Facility with no bail. He faces the possibility of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted as charged.
Law&Crime reached out to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office for additional details on this story but no response was immediately forthcoming at time of publication.
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