A 30-year-old man accused of shooting his wife and her sister in an Aurora apartment last week — killing the sister — was charged Friday with murder and attempted murder, according to court records.
Michel Jordan Castellano-Fonseca faces 17 felony charges, including one count of first-degree murder, 12 counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault causing serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon, one count of burglary and two counts of felony menacing, court records show.
Castellano-Fonseca was also charged with five misdemeanor counts of child abuse and three violent-crime sentence enhancers.
Aurora officers responded to the shooting in the 1000 block of Cimarron Circle just after 3 a.m. on Aug. 3, police said.
When they arrived, officers found two women had been shot in the head in an apartment bathroom, according to an arrest affidavit.
One woman, Castellano-Fonseca’s wife, was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The wife’s sister, 27-year-old Grabriela Esmeralda Marquez Avila, died from her injuries at the scene.
The wife, who has not been publicly identified, remained hospitalized Wednesday evening, Aurora police spokesperson Matthew Longshore said.
Both women and the five children who were inside the apartment at the time of the shooting tried to hide in the bathroom when Castellano-Fonseca broke down the front door with a gun in his hand, police said in an arrest affidavit.
Castellano-Fonseca was able to reach the gun into the bathroom and fire multiple shots, striking both women, according to the document. The children were not injured.
Aurora police Chief Todd Chamberlain said last week that Castellano-Fonseca is a Venezuelan immigrant who was in the U.S. illegally. He entered the country in December 2023.
Police previously responded to a domestic disturbance at Castellano-Fonseca’s apartment in September, when his wife told officers that he had gone out drinking before coming home and hitting her, according to his arrest affidavit.
That case was deactivated because of conflicting statements from witnesses and a lack of video evidence from CCTV cameras in the area.
Castellano-Fonseca bought a gun the day before the early morning shooting after a fight with his wife, police said. Chamberlain previously said investigators believe he purchased the gun illegally.
Officers found evidence of at least four bullets being shot near East 10th Avenue and Sable Boulevard, where a witness told police that Castellano-Fonseca tested the gun to ensure it would work, according to court documents.
Castellano-Fonseca is being held at the Arapahoe County Detention Center with no bond. He is next scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 13.
