Modesto man accused of killing girlfriend appears in court

A Modesto man accused of killing his 19-year-old girlfriend last week made his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon.

Jose Nery Cuevas walked into the courtroom wearing a red-and-white jail inmate jumpsuit and shackles on his wrists and ankles. He did not say much, only answering a few questions from the judge.

Prosecutors formally charged Cuevas with murder in the death of Andrea Castro, who was the mother of Cuevas’ two small children. The prosecution also alleges the defendant acted with premeditation and was lying in wait for Castro, according to a criminal complaint filed in court Tuesday morning.

Investigators have not indicated a possible motive or manner of death. Authorities were still awaiting an autopsy report. The criminal complaint made no mention of a weapon being used in Castro’s death.

Deputy Public Defender Clifford Tong asked the judge to postpone Cuevas’ arraignment hearing for one week because another attorney from his office will be representing the defendant and needs to speak to Cuevas before proceeding.

Deputy District Attorney Beth O’Hara De Jong did not object to the postponement, but she asked the judge not to delay the hearing for more than a week. She said the arraignment needs to happen as soon as possible.

Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Rick Distaso agreed and ordered the defendant to return to court Tuesday morning to proceed with his arraignment. The judge ordered Cuevas to remain in custody at the county jail without bail, for the time being.

About a dozen people supporting the defendant attended Tuesday’s hearing, but declined to comment to the media.

About two dozen members of Castro’s family, including her mother, attended the hearing. They also did not make any comments after the hearing.

On Monday, Castro’s family members talked about the young woman and her death. “She was a good daughter and mother,” Castro’s mother, Maribel Martinez, said in Spanish. “If anybody asked her for a favor, she was always willing to help out.”

Carmen Garcia, Martinez’s sister-in-law, added, “She was a very happy, outgoing person, always tended to be a positive person, and like she (Martinez) said, was willing to help others in any way that she could.”

The women spoke at the south Modesto home on Eureka Street where about two weeks ago Castro and her two children had moved in with her mother, stepfather and two younger sisters. All around the house, inside and out, family members were gathered for support.

Castro’s 5-year-old son, Alexis, played with other young relatives just after his little sister awoke from a nap. Garcia and Martinez said Alexis has no idea what happened to his mother, whose picture sat on a table nearby with flowers and a lighted candle. They’ll be consulting a psychologist shortly to decide how to break the news to him. For now, Garcia said, the Bret Harte School kindergartner has been told his mommy is “on a trip.”

Sixteen-month-old Jayleen was held by her grandmother before being set down to toddle around the room. Family and police say Jayleen was in the Moselle Court home when her mother was killed. The home is that of Castro’s father, and Castro, Cuevas and their children had been living there.

Castro moved in with her mother and stepfather, Carlos, on Jan. 10, but she was at her father’s home Friday to gather the last of her belongings. Garcia and Martinez said they wish Castro had waited for someone to go with her, which might have saved her life.

Castro’s father was not at the Moselle home when the slaying occurred. One of the doors showed signs of a break-in, Garcia said. The family believes Cuevas was looking for her and saw her car there. Garcia said they believe someone else also must have been at the house at some point that day, because Castro’s car was taken. The car was recovered and has been impounded as evidence, Garcia said, and the family learned that Cuevas took Jayleen to his mother’s home in Modesto before leaving the area Friday.

Several hours later, Cuevas was taken into custody in Bakersfield after notifying authorities of his whereabouts. He was transported back to Modesto, where he was booked into the Stanislaus County jail.

Police have not revealed the cause of Castro’s death, and Garcia said the family has been told only that there were no bruises or other signs of trauma and that she was unconscious and died at the scene despite lifesaving measures by medical personnel. Officers had responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at the home.

About two weeks ago, Castro narrowly escaped death at Cuevas’ hands, said Martinez and Garcia on Monday. “She told mom that Jose put a pillow over her face and she passed out, she was unconscious,” Garcia said.

“Whenever she woke up several hours later, she called an ambulance and was taken to the emergency room. But of course by the time she was at the emergency room, Jose kicked in and said, ‘Oh, it was because of her anemia.’ ” Garcia said. “She couldn’t give all the details, however she was filing a restraining order and filing for custody of her kids.”

Police on Monday could not confirm the family’s account, but the Stanislaus Superior Court online case index shows that on Jan. 13, Castro filed a declaration of domestic violence and an application to establish child support. She had a temporary restraining order against Cuevas and court hearings scheduled for Feb. 4 and 18, the website shows.

The young woman, who was born in Modesto, attended Bret Harte Elementary and Hanshaw Middle School. She was a 13-year-old student at the latter when she became pregnant, which brought her education to an end.

Castro was a loving mother who “always had her kids with her,” Garcia said. “They’d take family trips to the Bay Area, to Tijuana to visit Jose’s father. ... She was pretty much staying at home but also working for her mother-in-law. She sort of had her own business, they would sell fruit at farmers markets. Only weekends she would go and help out.”

Cuevas was a welder, Garcia said. “He did a lot of jumping around with jobs.”

By all appearances, Garcia and Martinez said, Castro and Nuevas had a good relationship most of the time they were together. But about four months ago, she began speaking up about his controlling behavior, the women said. “She (Martinez) started hearing ... that he was even stopping her from coming to see mom. He would take her phone, keys, sometimes lock her in the house,” Garcia said

Castro told her mother that Cuevas was a very jealous man. Martinez “would call her cellphone and he would answer,” Garcia said, serving as translator for her sister-in-law. “She would text her and he would reply.”

The women said Castro indicated this was a new behavior, not a long-term pattern. Martinez and Garcia said they never saw any physical signs of domestic violence, such as bruises, on her.

To cover funeral expenses for Andrea Castro and help with care of Alexis and Jayleen, the family has set up a GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/qvkxgdb9.

Another thing the family asks, said Garcia: “If anybody has more information, neighbors who’ve seen anything that could help the case, call police, because the one thing we do want is justice for Andrea.”

This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 3:48 PM with the headline "Modesto man accused of killing girlfriend appears in court."