LI Music Teacher Accused Of Fatally Strangling Student Faces Murder Charge: PD

MASSAPEQUA, NY — A 27-year-old music teacher is facing a second-degree murder charge Tuesday after a 25-year-old woman was found unresponsive in her home and pronounced dead Monday, police said.

In a briefing Tuesday, Detective Lieutenant Daniel Steller said Massapequa resident Joseph Horner called 911 at 8:44 a.m. Monday, requesting police and an ambulance to a split-level home on North Oak Street “for a deceased female.” Upon arrival, police said they found Horner sitting outside the home, which is split into two apartments — one on the first floor, one on the second.

After interviewing Horner, police said they found 25-year-old Massapequa resident Victoria Castle unresponsive in the first-floor apartment, administered “life-saving medical assistance” and took her to the hospital. Castle was pronounced dead at 9:25 a.m., police said. The cause of death is currently believed to be strangling, police said, citing an investigation of the scene and Castle’s injuries.

Castle was a Ph.D. student at Stony Brook University, police said.

In the aftermath of Castle’s death, police said Horner is being charged with second-degree murder, and could face up to 25 years to life in prison if found guilty. According to police, Horner lives on the second floor of the North Oak Street home with his wife, to whom he has been married for three years. Horner’s wife was not home at the time of the incident and he acted alone, police said.

Horner had known Castle since 2016, when he first met his wife, police said. Police declined to say how Horner knew Castle. No one involved in the investigation had any prior criminal record, police said.

"There was much fear and confusion in the community yesterday, in the Massapequa community, with our massive response to that location," Steller said. "And we just want to thank that community for their patience and cooperation with us, and reassure them that they are safe in that community."

Police said Tuesday that Horner is employed as a music teacher in a local school district, but declined to say which district. The incident, police said, has no relation to that district.