For killing wife during St. Paul Bible study, man gets 33-year prison sentence

Robert Castillo listens as Ramsey County Judge Richard H. Kyle Jr. sentences him to 33 years in prison for killing his wife, Corinna Woodhull, during a hearing at the Ramsey County Courthouse in St. Paul on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. Castillo pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder in March in the stabbing death of Woodhull, 41, in March 2023. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Robert Castillo, right, listens as Randy Kirscheman, left, the father of murder victim Corinna Woodhull, reads his victim impact statement during a sentencing hearing for Castillo at the Ramsey County Courthouse in St. Paul on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. Castillo was sentenced Friday to 33 years in prison for killing Woodhull, his wife, after pleading guilty to second-degree intentional murder in March for the stabbing death of Woodhull, 41, in March 2023. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Corrina Woodhull was fatally stabbed in St. Paul on March 21, 2023. Woodhull’s husband, Robert Castillo, is charged with murder. (Courtesy photo)

Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Dan Rait holds up a photo of the knife used by Robert Castillo to kill his wife, Corinna Woodhull, as he argues for a 33-year sentence for Castillo during a sentencing hearing at the Ramsey County Courthouse in St. Paul on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. Castillo was sentenced to 33 years in prison Friday after pleading guilty in March to second-degree intentional murder in the stabbing death of Woodhull, 41, in March 2023. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Linda Castle, the mother of murder victim Corinna Woodhull, reads her victim impact statement during the sentencing of Robert Castillo, right, at the Ramsey County Courthouse in St. Paul on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. Castillo was sentenced to 33 years in prison Friday after pleading guilty in March to second-degree intentional murder in the stabbing death of Woodhull, 41, in March 2023. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Robert Castillo listens as Ramsey County Judge Richard H. Kyle Jr. denies his motion for a lesser sentence in the murder of his wife, Corinna Woodhull, during a hearing at Ramsey County Courthouse in St. Paul on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. Castillo was sentenced to 33 years in prison Friday after pleading guilty in March to second-degree intentional murder in the stabbing death of Woodhull, 41, in March 2023. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Ramsey County Judge Richard H. Kyle Jr. explains his 33- year sentence of Robert Castillo for the murder of Corinna Woodhull during Castillo’s sentencing hearing at the Ramsey County Courthouse in St. Paul on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. Castillo was sentenced to 33 years in prison Friday after pleading guilty in March to second-degree intentional murder in the stabbing death of Woodhull, 41, in March 2023. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

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Corinna Woodhull believed she could help her husband, just like she’d turned her life around and helped so many others.

“She thought she could save him, that her love would help them build a life together,” her mother said in court Friday.

Corrina Woodhull (Courtesy photo)

She flushed his drugs down the toilet, but he didn’t stop. When Woodhull’s family retrieved her belongings from her car, they found divorce papers.

“She knew it was time to walk away and that’s why she’s dead,” said Linda Castle, Woodhull’s mom.

Robert Castillo, 41, admitted in March to the second-degree intentional murder of Woodhull in St. Paul during a Bible study at his sister’s home. On Friday, he received a prison sentence of just over 33 years.

Woodhull, 41, was a mom of five. “She had a very kind heart, she was very soft with her heart,” Castle said after court. “But she was loud and vibrant because she wanted the world to hear her and that I think they did.”

‘Don’t let me die’

Castillo’s sister told police they hosted Bible study at her home in the 1000 block of East Maryland Avenue in the Payne-Phalen area every Tuesday night. On the evening of March 21, 2023, the couple was sitting on a couch when Castillo whispered something in Woodhull’s ear. After she shook her head “no,” Castillo pulled out a hunting knife and stabbed her multiple times, according to the criminal complaint. She was pronounced dead at Regions Hospital.

Woodhull’s last words were, “Don’t let me die,” according to the complaint.

“These were to people she was surrounded by who loved and cared for her as they celebrated fellowship, but it wasn’t to her husband because her husband is the man who killed her,” said Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Dan Rait. “What has always bothered me most about this situation is the fact that (Castillo) has a history of hurting people who care about him” he said of his past convictions.

Castillo’s last memory as a free man was from the early morning of March 21, 2023. He got high with a friend and ingested so much “he doesn’t recall what happened afterward,” said his attorney, Mark Austin, in court Friday.

Speaking in court, Castillo apologized to his stepchildren and Woodhull’s family and friends.

“I’m taking full responsibility for my actions, even if I don’t recall anything that happened that day due to my … drug-induced psychosis,” he said, adding that he’s struggled to forgive himself for taking the life of his wife and best friend.