Hillcrest Man Sentenced to Life After Committing Double Homicide

By Rockland Daily Staff

Robert C. Williams III, a thirty-four-year-old resident of Hillcrest, New York, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being found guilty on all charges by a Rockland County Jury stemming from a 2020 double homicide in Valley Cottage.

Rockland County Court Judge Kevin Russo sentenced Robert C. Williams III to life in prison without the possibility of parole on the Murder 1st count, 25 years to life for Murder 2nd (2 counts), 15 years for Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd, and two – four years for each count of Criminal Contempt 1st. The sentence was delivered today as a follow-up to April 2022, when a Rockland County Jury deliberated for two days before rendering a guilty verdict on all charges.

The charges stem from the May 26, 2020, murder of Kathleen Castor, age 27, and her mother, Wanda Castor, age 63, at 104 Lake Road in Valley Cottage, where Williams III entered the residence and shot and killed both women with a .40 caliber firearm. Kathleen’s newborn baby, one-month-old Anastasia, was left in the apartment unharmed. 

The Judge issued a permanent order of protection, for 50 years, for 2-year-old Anastasia. 

District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II said, “On May 26, 2020, one-month-old Anastasia lost both her mother and grandmother due to the barbaric actions of the defendant. We hope that with Williams's sentencing, the Clarkstown community and the Castor family can begin the healing process.”