Her frail, emaciated body seemed to be at death's door. Her rough-hewn hands matched her prematurely wrinkled face. The lines in her face were almost a road map to her uncontrollable drive to drink. Blue and brown blotches tracking down her arms spoke of being railroaded by hard drug use. Her shoulder-length brown hair, sun-bleached blonde in places, was unkempt.
While I didn't know Julie very well - only having met her about a half-dozen times - my good friend, James, did.
James is one of the few Christians I know who actually tries to live by the principles set forth by Christ. In other words, he is no hypocrite.
On more than one occasion, I've seen or heard of James lending a direct helping hand to the homeless and down-and-out in our neighborhood - expecting absolutely nothing in return.
Julie Castillo was one such person he had tried to help. With food, free cigarettes from time to time, and the occasional dollar or two.
Although Julie had a mother in the Pacific Northwest, she didn't want to return home, deciding, instead, to remain on the streets of Phoenix - rather than returning to a place where her stepfather also lived. The same man who she claimed had repeatedly molested her as a child.
She was a mother herself, with two children. She was especially proud of her teenaged daughter, with whom - even though she had lost custody years ago - she still communicated semi-regularly. Her daughter had told her recently that she wanted to wait to have sex until she was married.
Julie, meanwhile, had been arrested for prostitution on more than one occasion - so her daughter's declaration was especially touching to her.
A mutual friend of James and I had once taken Julie home with him, paying for her "services". This friend, for obvious reasons, shall remain nameless. For days thereafter, Julie kept showing up at his house. She evidently thought they had made a deeper connection beyond that of the prostitution business arrangement. Perhaps he had been kinder than most and, being desperate for some love or simple comfort - something most everybody can relate to - she returned to fill that void in her soul again. Eventually, Julie had to be warned not to return, lest the police be called.
Julie had been diagnosed with schizophrenia at an early age, and one can only imagine how much this had affected her life-choices.
Article comments
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2 - Shirly Jones
I'm a student of criminal justice. I was told about a very strange serial killer by one of my classmates.
He was referred to as the mini-skirt killer. My understanding is that the murders occured in the 1970's. The killer would lure young college girls into his car. He would then put a plastic bag over their heads and suffocate them to death.
After smothering the life out of them he would remove and keep his victims pantyhose.
He would not rape his victims, they were found fully clothed with the exception of their missing pantyhose. He would only kill college age girls wearing micro mini-skirts and pantyhose. Has anyone else heard of this bizarre criminal?
3 - kelly
What a brutally honest view.Often I have wondered what could a woman in that position be thinking when making the decision that would lead her to her place of death...Is it possible that addiction could be so strong that even if she had sensed danger that she would have ignored the signs?Wish there was some way to volunteer to help such people as the street people,prostitutes and addicts???Thanks for such a touching article...kelly
4 - j
I was living in the area where these killings were taking place and to hear of it in the media and general society mortified me. The more i heard, the more I was afraid for everyone fitting the "profile" that was being sought after., there were times when it was said that he was keeping the corpses for up to a month and repeatedly sexually assaulting the bodies until they were so badly decomposed that he Had to dispose of them..,only to seek out and find another victim within a week. How can anyone be so cruel and heartless??., am only relieved that he can not hurt anyone else., and i pray that noone will repeat his actions. Society cannot, should not have to suffer in this way again.
5 - scott culp
julie was my step-sister even though we didnt get to see each other in her later days i miss her much i wish i would have known she was in such dire straits but mom didnt let me know either. its to late to do anything now but to pray. I still have my memories of her laugh and her way of thought she is very speical in my heart