The Ex-Husband Of Slain Simi Valley Mother Pleads Not Guilty

Friday December 16, 2022

     Update--The ex-husband of a slain Simi Valley mother has pleaded not guilty to murdering her.

     25-year-old Zarbab Ali of Hawthorne was arraigned Friday.

     In addition to his not guilty plea to the murder charge in the stabbing death of his ex-wife, 25-year-old Rachel Castillo of Simi Valley, he also denied two special allegations.

     One regarding use of a deadly weapon.

     The other was what's known as a Special Circumstance allegation of "lying in wait" that could lead to either life in prison without parole or the death penalty.

     The Ventura County District Attorney's Office has yet to decide which punishment they would seek should Ali be convicted.

     He remains in the Ventura County Jail and is being held without bail and cannot be released.

     Simi Valley police say the body of Castillo was found last month in a remote location in the Antelope Valley.

     Ali was arrested at his parent's Victorville home the same day.

     On November 10th, officers responded to Castillo's Wood Ranch area home in Simi Valley after her sister, who also lives there, called 9-1-1 to report that she had returned to the apartment she shared with Rachel to find a significant amount of blood plus Rachel's cell phone, car keys, and vehicle, but no Rachel.

     There was evidence of a struggle.

     Detectives immediately suspected that a crime had occurred and they put out a public plea for help in locating her.

     That search came to a tragic end a few days later when the mother of two young children was found dead in the desert.