A California jury convicted a man Friday of first-degree murder for planning and carrying out the ambush of his estranged wife, Rachel Castillo. He will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Jurors found 28-year-old Zarbab Ali guilty of killing the 25-year-old mother inside her Simi Valley apartment in November 2022. The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that Ali faces a mandatory life sentence without parole at his upcoming Jan. 12 sentencing hearing.
The verdict closes a disturbing case that began with a frantic missing persons report and ended with chilling testimony about Ali’s actions before and after the murder.
A “Significant Amount of Blood”
The case began on Nov. 10, 2022, when Castillo’s sister returned to their shared apartment and encountered a horrifying scene. Rachel was gone, yet her phone, keys, and vehicle remained. Inside the apartment, her sister discovered a “significant amount of blood” and immediately called 911.
“As soon as I saw the blood, that’s when I realized something wasn’t right,” the sister told KABC after the disappearance. “I checked her bathroom, under her bed, her closet… but she wasn’t anywhere.”
Investigators quickly determined that a violent struggle had taken place. Three days later, on Nov. 13, FBI agents and local officers found Castillo’s body buried in a shallow grave in a remote area of the Antelope Valley. Authorities arrested Ali the next day.
Lying in Wait
During the trial, jurors heard chilling details about how Ali planned the attack. According to testimony reported by the Ventura County Star, Ali admitted to detectives that he had been considering killing his estranged wife for months.
On the day of the murder, Ali picked up the couple’s children from Castillo’s apartment and dropped them off at his parents’ home. He then returned to the apartment, entered through an unlocked door, and waited.
Ali told police he initially tried to
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