West Haven stabbing victim was killed by sister's ex during child handoff, per court documents
Wilkins Castillo, 24, of West Haven, is charged with murder and two counts of risk of injury to a minor in the deadly stabbing of Robert Piccirillo, 35, of Branford.
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A deadly stabbing in West Haven happened during a child custody exchange, according to court documents.
Wilkins Castillo, 24, of West Haven, is charged with murder and two counts of risk of injury to a minor. Castillo is accused of killing Robert Piccirillo, the brother of Castillo’s ex-girlfriend, with whom Castillo has two kids.
The violence occurred when Piccirillo, 35, of Branford, accompanied his sister to pick up her kids from Castillo, per the incident report in Castillo’s case file. It happened around 5:20 p.m. in the 200 block of Meadowbrook Court, where Castillo lives.
According to the report, Piccirillo's sister said she and Castillo got into an argument when he brought the kids down to her car. She told police Piccirillo, "was trying to calm things down," when Castillo swung at him, then pulled a knife and began stabbing him, the report said.
In an interview with police, Castillo confessed to the stabbing but said he didn't mean to kill Piccirillo, according to the report. Castillo told police he brought the knife "to protect himself" and only used it because he thought Piccirillo had a gun, per the report. When police asked if Castillo ever saw a weapon on Piccirillo, Castillo admitted he hadn’t.
Castillo is being held on a $1 million bond. He was arraigned in Milford Superior Court on Wednesday and is due back in court Aug. 11.
