Police hunted for a suspect Sunday in an overnight shooting at a house in Aurora that left four people dead, the culmination of what authorities called “an ongoing domestic situation.”
Three men and one woman, all adults, were killed, and two “very young” children and an adult woman at the home near the intersection of East 10th Avenue and Geneva Street were unharmed, interim Aurora police Chief Dan Oates said during a Sunday news briefing.
Oates said the unharmed adult woman is the “domestic partner of our suspect,” Joseph Mario Castorena, 21. The two children are not related to that woman or the suspect, police said.
“Earlier this week, a restraining order had been issued directing the suspect not to go to their residence or approach or come near the domestic partner,” Oates said.
Police initially received a call about suspicious activity at a house in the 900 block of Geneva Street a little after 2 a.m., Oates said. “During the call, the call-taker actually heard shots being fired,” he said.
Officers were dispatched and arrived within 3 minutes, Oates said, and found three bodies inside the house and one outside the residence.
The suspect, Castorena, is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and with a “slim build” and a lion tattoo on his neck, police said. Officials said they did not know what he was wearing.
Suspect is 21 y/o Joseph Castorena. 5'04, slim build. Unknown what he is wearing today. Note the Lion tattoo on his neck. Suspect is armed and dangerous, call 911 if you see him or know where he is. (photo is from a previous arrest) pic.twitter.com/4JFbqqfdzT
— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) October 30, 2022
Police searched the neighborhood for Castorena both in the dark and again after the sun rose, including with aerial drones, officials said.
“He’s certainly considered armed and he’s obviously dangerous,” Oates said.
Castorena lives with family a couple of blocks away from the site of the shooting, Oates said, and police searched that house with the consent of Castorena’s family, but did not find the suspect.
Automated emergency calls were made to people living in the area warning them of a suspect on the loose. Those residents were given an “all clear” around 10 a.m. Sunday after the second search failed to locate the suspect in the neighborhood, police said.
Asked if the shooting had anything to do with a custody dispute, Oates said the couple’s children “are not even in the state. They are elsewhere with family and safe.”
“He has a history involving domestic violence and… I don’t have all the details,” Oates said. “The was an accumulation of events here that led to this.”
Colorado Bureau of Investigation records show Castorena was arrested in January 2021 on felony child abuse charges.
He also was arrested in March of this year on a failure to appear warrant and again on Oct. 10 for failure to appear on an Aurora misdemeanor domestic violence assault charge, according to CBI records.
The Aurora Police Department’s Major Crimes Homicide Unit is investigating the shooting,
The Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office will release the victims’ names following positive identification and notification of family members.
People are asked to call 911 if they see Castorena or have any information on his whereabouts.
Briefing by Chief @DanielJohnOates regarding the early morning homicide where 4 adults were killed on N. Geneva St. https://t.co/h45AtFZqp2
— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) October 30, 2022
