Ex-husband accused in death of missing 25-year-old mom, California police say

A 25-year-old mom reported missing after her sister discovered a “significant amount of blood” in their home has been found dead, California police reported.

The body of Rachel Castillo, who had been missing since the night of Thursday, Nov. 10, was found in a remote location in Antelope Valley, Simi Valley police said in a Nov. 13 news release.

Police arrested her ex-husband, Zarbab Ali, 25, of Hawthorne at the Victorville home of his parents in connection with the slaying, the release said.

“This investigation has rapidly evolved over the past few days,” the release said.

Castillo was declared missing after her sister Emily Castillo returned home from work to find she had vanished, McClatchy News reported.

“As soon as I saw the blood, that’s when I realized something wasn’t right,” Emily Castillo told KABC. “I was running around the house trying to see if I could find her somewhere.”

Rachel Castillo’s keys, phone, car and “a significant amount of blood” were found at or in her home, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“The most important thing is that she’s a mother,” her mother, Robyn Castillo, told KABC before her body was found. “She has two little boys who are going to miss her, and we just want her home.”

Detectives worked “around the clock” to try to find Rachel Castillo, police told the Los Angeles Times.

Simi Valley is a city of 126,000 people about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 10:25 AM with the headline "Ex-husband accused in death of missing 25-year-old mom, California police say."