After nearly a decade of unanswered questions haunted the families of Liliana Moreno and her 9-year-old daughter Daniella, federal prosecutors shed light Wednesday on what led to the arrest of Gustavo Alfonso Castano Restrepo — with shocking details including an extramarital affair, a secret love child and the 55-year-old planned their kidnapping and subsequent deaths at his work warehouse over Memorial Day weekend.
As Castano’s three daughters were in the courtroom Wednesday morning along with several other family and friends, including some of his employees, to support their father, prosecutors detailed the mounting evidence against Castano.
The mother and daughter disappeared in May 2016 and the pair were never found. After a months-long search, the case came to a standstill.
That was until late October, when the FBI arrested Castano for “kidnapping resulting in death” of his mistress and their daughter born from the affair, officials said.
He appeared for his detention hearing Wednesday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Eduardo Sanchez.
Castano’s double life
The tangled history began in 2006, when Castano, then married with three daughters, began having an affair with Moreno, according to federal prosecutor Dwayne Williams.
At the beginning of their affair, Moreno told Castano that she could not get pregnant. However, in 2008, she had given birth to their daughter Daniella. Castano did not want Daniella to be born and initially refused to acknowledge her as his child, Williams said.
They didn’t keep in touch for three years until Moreno confronted him in public after seeing his work car. Castano agreed to pay Moreno $375 a month for child support, and they would also resume their affair. Moreno worked as an architect and would assist Castano in his work as a contractor.
In 2016, Castano’s wife learned of the affair and Daniella’s birth, leading to the couple’s eventual divorce. He would then pay $912 in child support to his ex-wife for the child they shared.
Prosecutors say Castano was very upset and could not accept that the marriage was over.
The situation became more controversial when a paternity test revealed that Castano was Daniella’s father, potentially escalating his financial obligations amid a divorce and separation from his family.
This is when prosecutors say Castano began devising a plan to get rid of Liliana and Daniella for good.
Key person of interest?
On May 28, 2016, prosecutors say Castano invited Liliana and Daniella to dinner at Adrian’s Fish Market in Hialeah Gardens, noting he chose it because of its proximity to his warehouse in Medley.
After their dinner, he drove them to the warehouse, located at 10630 NW 123rd St, and showed them around. Prosecutors say he did this so Liliana wouldn’t be suspicious when he returned with them two days later.
Since the disappearance of Liliana and Daniella years ago, Castano has always been a key figure.
Liliana’s sister told police that Castano contacted her on May 31, claiming he could not get in touch with Liliana. This was the first time Castano had ever contacted Liliana’s family, which struck her sister as suspicious.
Concerned, the family asked friends to check on Liliana. When no one could find her, Doral police conducted a welfare check at Liliana’s apartment, where they found no trace of her or Daniella. However, they discovered that her handbag, wallet and car keys had been left behind.
Police immediately began searching for Castano and eventually found him in his home around midnight. He invited the police in and told them about his affair with Liliana. He told them that Liliana had texted him on May 30, complaining that he had not kept his promise to meet her. About 11 a.m., he told police he picked up Liliana and Daniella after inviting them to Home Depot at 13895 W Okeechobee Rd, Hialeah Gardens, near the turnpike.
He told police that he and Liliana started arguing and she scratched him. He said he dropped them off on the side of the road at Home Depot before going to his warehouse in Medley.
He told police he was in the warehouse for about 15 to 20 minutes before returning to where he dropped off Liliana and Daniella – but could no longer find them.
On June 1, he called Miami-Dade police and offered assistance in investigating the disappearance of Liliana and Daniella. In the evening, he showed officers photos of where he dropped them off and snapshots of his warehouse.
However, federal prosecutors say he made up the story and that surveillance footage from the aforementioned area never shows this happening. Instead, prosecutors say he drove them to his warehouse, where he would throw them away.
Defense attorney Philip Reizenstein said Castano could simply have made a mistake when he told investigators the address where he dropped them off and that surveillance footage from surrounding areas had not been properly examined.
“I don’t believe he made a mistake,” said FBI Special Agent Ryan Dreibelbis, who was sworn in as a witness. Dreibelbis insisted that Castano had devised a plan to get rid of Liliana and Daniella.
Reizenstein argued that police never properly informed Castano that he was a suspect and that his statements to police were never properly recorded and that investigators relied on “police memory.”
But Dreibelbis said Castano’s second statement to police was recorded and that he told police he dropped them off at Home Depot and that was a lie.
‘I feel guilty’
Additionally, prosecutors say Castano also tried to destroy evidence.
On May 31, 2016, Castano’s warehouse was burglarized, as well as the adjacent unit, where surveillance cameras were pointed directly at his space. The resident of the neighboring unit, who used the space to manufacture T-shirts, told police about a strange encounter with Castano.
He alleged that Castano had asked about a non-existent T-shirt order and requested to inspect the security cameras, citing concerns about recent burglaries that he wanted him to see.
However, it later turned out that the cameras were the only items damaged and stolen.
Prosecutors say surveillance footage at the Home Depot shows all three were in the car, but Castano never dropped them off on the side of the road. Instead, they went straight to the warehouse.
AT&T evidence shows Castano’s phone was turned off from 10:55 a.m. to 1:41 p.m. — which prosecutors say is the time frame in which he threw them away. He believed it would be less stressful to turn off his phone.
The riddle: no bodies were ever found; the manner of death remains unknown.
Prosecutors say he admitted twice that Liliana and Daniella were dead. On June 2, 2016, around midnight, police found him in his truck in a Home Depot parking lot in Hialeah Gardens and said he tried to cut his neck.
He told police, “I feel guilty for what happened to Liliana and Daniella” in Spanish.
Police also say they found a suicide note he left for a detective who had previously interviewed him.
Reizenstein said he could have said this out of guilt because he was the last person to see the couple alive and that it was not an admission of a crime.
In March 2023, Liliana’s family learned that Castano would travel to Colombia. Her family confronted him at an airport in Cali, where Liliana’s mother demanded to know what happened to her daughter. Castano reportedly replied, “You will find out in my will.”
At one point during the confrontation, Reizenstein notes that Castano was punched in the face by a relative of Liliana. Although it is not clear whether the blow occurred before or after Castano’s ominous statement about his will.
Reizenstein pointed out that nearly a dozen of Castano’s relatives and friends were in the courtroom to support his release and underlined that all the evidence was purely circumstantial.
Judge Sánchez said he weighed the presence of his family in his favor. And while the evidence was circumstantial, Sánchez concluded it was “indicative of a plan” and denied the connection to Castano.
Many of his family and friends seemed distraught when Sánchez ordered Castano to remain in prison.
If found guilty, he faces life in prison and possibly the death penalty.
