Mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed condolences Thursday after an accused murderer died in Department of Correction custody, but did not mention the man he was accused of killing.
Luis Alberto Lopez Castillo faced murder, manslaughter, robbery and weapons charges tied to the 2025 killing of Ron Marte, a 26-year-old autistic man.
Castillo was accused of stealing Marte’s cellphone during an early-morning ambush at the Bronx’s Starlight Park. Prosecutors allege Castillo’s accomplice, Axel Martinez, shot Marte in the chest as he walked home from a shift at an Amazon warehouse.
“I extend my condolences to his family,” Mamdani wrote on X in reference to Castillo.
Department of Correction staff found 20-year-old Castillo in “medical distress” at Queens Criminal Court around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the agency. Staff performed CPR before EMS transported him to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly before 8 p.m. DOC said the circumstances of his death remain under investigation.
Castillo had appeared in court that day on charges stemming from a separate incident, Gothamist reported.
Mamdani faced criticism on X, where users condemned him for mourning the accused killer while saying nothing about Marte.
“He robbed and murdered a 26 yo disabled man. You’re a monster,” one user wrote.
“Why do you mourn the death of prisoners and not one single victim,” another posted.
The backlash followed similar criticism Mamdani received last month after he expressed sorrow over the death of accused killer Clarence Woodward at Rikers Island.
Relatives of Woodward’s alleged victim called the mayor’s comments a “slap in the face,” saying they failed to recognize their own loss.
“That’s his pattern at this point,” another user posted.
“Here you go again siding with criminals, sending your condolences to them instead of siding with the victims,” another critic wrote.
“You have no moral compass, no decency, no conscience. Shame on you!” the user added.
