Jury: Woman not guilty in killing of man accused of rape in Cinco Ranch

Carrillo-Castilla Carrillo-Castilla Photo: Fort Bend Sheriff's Office Photo: Fort Bend Sheriff's Office Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Jury: Woman not guilty in killing of man accused of rape in Cinco Ranch 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A jury returned a not guilty verdict late Friday evening for a woman charged in the killing of a man who allegedly raped her friend at his Cinco Ranch home.

Monserrat Carrillo-Castilla, 21, openly sobbed and embraced one of her attorneys, Asha Reddi, as the verdict was read around 8:20 p.m. The former dancer and escort faced a murder charge in the 2016 death of Willie Honable Jr., 36, an alleged pimp and aspiring rapper.

She pleaded not guilty, but witnesses testified this week that she confessed to wanting to kill Honable because she was upset that he allegedly raped her friend. She said she also wanted to steal drugs and clothes from his home, a witness testified.

During closing arguments Friday morning, the defense attorney described Carrillo-Castilla as a girl who went down the wrong path and got involved with a dangerous crowd. “She was sold a dream, and she bought it,” Reddi said.

Still, no DNA or other forensic evidence tied Carrillo-Castilla to the crime scene, according to Reddi.

“All this because a friend didn’t get paid for sex?” Reddi said. “Does this story make any sense to you?”

During testimony Thursday, the friend who says she was raped recounted on the stand how she and Carrillo-Castilla met in middle school and rekindled their friendship as dancers at a strip club and later as escorts.

The two expected to go out for dinner with Honable and to get money from him, she said. The night took an unexpected turn, however, when the friend said Honable tried to force himself on her while they were upstairs in a room at his home.

He stopped when she said no, and the two returned downstairs.

The friend later said that Carrillo-Castilla admitted to killing the man.

Prosecutors said the timeline of events added up to Carrillo-Castilla being at the scene and committing the murder. “You need to hold the defendant accountable,”attorney Susan Sweeney said to the jury. “Don’t let her use her violent friends as an excuse.”

The jury spent more than eight hours deliberating before delivering the nonguilty verdict.