Music Teacher Strangles PhD Student To Death On Long Island

He Called 911 Himself

Joseph Horner, a 27 year old music teacher from Massapequa, New York, called 911 at 8:44 AM on Monday morning requesting police and an ambulance to a split level home on North Oak Street "for a deceased female." When officers arrived, they found Horner sitting outside the home.

Inside the first floor apartment, police found 25 year old Victoria Castle unresponsive. Officers administered life saving medical assistance and transported her to a nearby hospital. She was pronounced dead at 9:25 AM.

The Victim Was A Stony Brook PhD Student

Victoria Castle was a doctoral student at Stony Brook University. She was 25 years old and a resident of Massapequa. The cause of death is believed to be strangulation, based on the investigation of the scene and Castle's injuries.

Horner lives on the second floor of the same North Oak Street home with his wife, to whom he has been married for three years. His wife was not home at the time of the incident. Police confirmed he acted alone.

A Connection Going Back Years

According to Nassau County Police Detective Lieutenant Daniel Steller, Horner had known Castle since 2016, when he first met his wife. Police declined to elaborate on the exact nature of their relationship.

Horner is employed as a music teacher in a local school district, though police declined to name which one. They confirmed the incident has no connection to his employment. He has since been placed on administrative leave.

No one involved in the investigation had any prior criminal record.

Community Shaken

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

That statement came from Detective Lieutenant Steller during a Tuesday press briefing. Horner now faces a charge of second degree murder and could face up to 25 years to life in prison if found guilty.

The Massapequa community, a quiet suburb on Long Island's South Shore, is reeling from an act of violence that occurred in what neighbors describe as an ordinary residential street where nothing like this has ever happened before.