Man accused of kidnapping and killing a Doral mother, daughter in 2016 is denied bond

After nearly a decade of unanswered questions haunted the families of Liliana Moreno and her 9-year-old daughter Daniella, federal prosecutors on Wednesday shed light on what led to the arrest of Gustavo Alfonso Castano Restrepo — laying out jarring details that include an extramarital affair, a secret love child and the 55-year-old planning their kidnapping and subsequent deaths at his work warehouse on Memorial Day weekend.

As Castano’s three daughters were present in the courtroom to support their father on Wednesday morning along with various other family and friends, including some of his employees, prosecutors expounded on the mounting evidence levied against Castano.

The mother and daughter vanished in May 2016, and the pair was never found. Following a months-long search, the case went cold.

That was until late October, when the FBI arrested Castano for “kidnapping resulting in death” of his mistress and their daughter born out of the affair, according to officials.

He appeared for his detention hearing on 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 start of their affair, Moreno told Castano she could not get pregnant. However, by 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, said Williams.

For three years, they remained out of contact until Moreno confronted him in public after spotting 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 with his work as a contractor.

By 2016, Castano’s wife learned of the affair and Daniella’s birth, leading to the couple’s eventual divorce. He would then pay $912 to his ex-wife in child support for the child they shared.

Prosecutors say Castano was very upset and could not accept that the marriage was over.

The situation became more contentious when a paternity test confirmed Castano was Daniella’s father, possibly escalating his financial obligations amid a divorce and separation from his family.

This is when prosecutors say Castano began to conceive a plan to permanently get rid of Liliana and Daniella.

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 for its proximity to his warehouse unit 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 would not be suspicious when he would return with them two days later.

Since the disappearance of Liliana and Daniella years ago, Castano has always been a key person of interest.

Liliana’s sister told police that Castano had reached out to 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 locate her, Doral police conducted a welfare check at Liliana’s apartment, where they found no sign of either her or Daniella. However, they discovered her purse, wallet and car keys were left behind.

Police immediately began to search for Castano and eventually found him in his home close to midnight. He invited police in and told them about his affair with Liliana. He told them that Liliana texted him on May 30, complaining that he had not kept his promise of meeting up with her. At about 11 a.m., he told police that he picked up Liliana and Daniella after inviting them to Home Depot on 13895 W Okeechobee Rd, Hialeah Gardens, near the turnpike.

He told police that he and Liliana began to argue and she scratched him. He said he dropped them off on the side of the road near Home Depot before going to his warehouse in Medley.

He told police he was at the warehouse for about 15 to 20 minutes before returning to the spot he had dropped off Liliana and Daniella — but could no longer find them.

On June 1, he called Miami-Dade police and offered assistance in the investigation of the disappearance of Liliana and Daniella, even showing officers pictures of where he had dropped them off and snapshots of his warehouse.

Federal prosecutors, however, say he fabricated the story and that surveillance footage from the aformentioned area never shows this happening. Instead, prosecutors say he drove them to his warehouse, where he would dispose of them.

Defense attorney Philip Reizenstein said that Castano could have simply made a mistake when he told investigators the address of where he dropped them off and that surveillance footage of surrounding areas was not properly investigated.

“I don’t believe he made a mistake,” said FBI Special Agent Ryan Dreibelbis, who was sworn in as a witness. Dreibelbis insisted Castano conceived 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 the 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 was the neighboring unit, which had surveillance cameras aimed directly at his space. The occupant of the neighboring unit, who used the space to manufacture t-shirts, told police about a strange encounter with Castano.

He claimed that Castano had asked about a non-existent t-shirt order and requested to inspect the security cameras, citing concerns about recent burglaries to which he agreed to show him.

The cameras, though, were later found to be the only items damaged and stolen.

Prosecutors say surveillance footage near the Home Depot showed all three in the car but that Castano never dropped them off on the side of the road. Instead, they went straight to the warehouse.

Evidence from AT&T revealed Castano’s phone was off from 10:55 a.m. to 1:41 p.m. — which prosecutors say is the time-frame in which he disposed of them. He believed turning his self phone off would be less incriminating.

The conundrum: 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 at a Home Depot parking lot in Hialeah Gardens and said he was trying 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 that he left for a detective that had interviewed him prior.

Reizenstein said that he could have said this out of guilt for being the last person to see the pair alive and that it was not an admission of a crime.

In March 2023, Liliana’s family learned that Castano would be traveling to Colombia. Her family confronted him at an airport in Cali, where Liliana’s mother demanded to know what had happened to her daughter. Castano reportedly responded, “You’ll find out in my will.”

At some point during the confrontation, Reizenstein notes Castano was punched in the face by a relative of Liliana. Though it’s not clear whether the punch occurred before or after Castano’s ominous statement about his will.

Reizenstein pointed out that nearly a dozen of Castano’s family and friends were present in the courtroom to support his release and underscored that all the evidence was purely circumstantial.

Judge Sanchez said he weighed the presence of his family in his favor. And while the evidence was circumstantial, Sanchez concluded it was “indicative of a plan” and denied Castano bond.

Many of his family and friends looked distraught as Sanchez ordered Castano to remain jailed.

If found guilty, he faces minimum life sentence and possibly the death penalty.

This story was originally published November 6, 2024 at 7:17 PM.