Unwed Mother Slain Near Shelter : Infant Hurt in Fall; 16-Year-Old Father Held in Stabbing

A young woman who was living with her 2-month-old son at a Salvation Army home for unwed mothers in Montecito Heights was found stabbed to death near the home, and Los Angeles police have arrested the infant’s father for investigation of murder.

The body of Dixie Castillo, 18, was found in bushes near the chapel at the Booth Memorial Maternity Home shortly after 8 p.m. Monday by a security guard, police said Tuesday.

Her son, John, was found next to her with scalp cuts apparently suffered when he fell from his mother’s arms during the attack. The infant was in stable condition at County-USC Medical Center.

The victim’s 16-year-old boyfriend, whose name was not released because of his age, was arrested shortly after the slaying and was being held at a county juvenile facility.

Police said the suspect had called for Castillo at the home at 6 p.m. Monday to take a walk with the young woman and the baby.

Investigators said the teen-age suspect and the young woman had been together for three years, but had recently parted.

“We can only speculate on a motive at this point, but there is some indication that jealousy provoked the incident,” Hollenbeck Division Detective Robert Suter said Tuesday.

Castillo, who was from the Eastside, had been a resident of the home for more than a month and had enrolled in the facility’s high school in September, according to Art Stillwell, director of the Salvation Army’s Department of Social Services and Planning.

“She was a super person who was handling her problems and her baby very well,” the director said. “Dixie was also an excellent student who was doing her best to complete high school. It appears she would have graduated in June.”

Apartment Resident

Castillo was a resident of Booth Memorial’s Samaritan House Program, which provides apartments for unwed mothers and teaches them how to care for their infants.

Stillwell said the home, which presently accommodates 48 women and 18 infants, has a security entrance where visitors are received in a lobby. Visitors are not allowed into the residential areas. He said a male caseworker was on duty at the the time of the incident.

“I don’t think we could have prevented it, even if we had had 100 security guards around here, because it seems to have happened way out on the sidewalk,” Stillwell said. “Our adult residents can come and go as they want, as long as they meet their scheduled classes and clinic appointments. They do have free time and can walk out the door any time they want to, but they have to face the consequences of their decisions.”

Before moving to the Salvation Army home, Castillo had been a member of the senior class at Lincoln High School. Officials there said she had been a friendly and outgoing student and a member of the Reserve Officer Training Program for a short time last year.

“She was a nice person and a likeable young lady,” Assistant Principal Gloria Marchini said. “She had number of friends in school, seemed to be very cheerful and wanted to do well. . . .”