The Indiana Supreme Court has reduced the sentence of life in prison without parole for a Lake County woman convicted of murder in the death of her 2-year-old cousin.
The court Tuesday sentenced Engelica Castillo of Hobart to 65 years in prison because the facts showed she was only an accomplice in the death of Jada Justice of Portage.
Her attorney argued the life sentence was unfair because Castillo's former boyfriend, Timothy Tkachik, received a sentence of 20 years and could be released in as few as 10 years with good behavior. Tkachik pleaded guilty to two counts of neglect of a dependent.
Castillo told police Jada disappeared from a car while she went into a Gary convenience store. Her body was found in a swamp in LaPorte County.
