Portuguese Model Murder: 20-Year-Old Convicted Of Killing 65-Year-Old Lover
The Portuguese model murder in New York City has ended with a guilty verdict against Renato Seabra, the 20-year-old model who murdered his 65-year-old lover, Carlos Antonio De Castro. The murder between the two Portuguese men occurred in their shared InterContinental Hotel room in Times Square almost one year ago.
According to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.:
“This was a brutal and sadistic crime, where Renato Seabra bludgeoned, choked, and mutilated his victim before murdering him.”
Vance further added:
“But the jury’s verdict now, finally, holds Seabra accountable. It is particularly tragic that Carlos Castro was not only … betrayed by his spurned lover, but met a very painful and violent end far from his home.”
In January 2011, Castro was found brutally murdered in his hotel room, bludgeoned to death and then castrated.
The Portuguese model murder, as it was dubbed (also known as the “boy toy trial”), occurred because De Castro allegedly broke up with Renato Seabra.
After the murder, Seabra took $1,600 from his former lover and hung a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door.
Seabra was caught after he ran into a friend of Castro’s in the lobby. That friend later testified that Seabra said Castro “won’t be leaving the room.”
On January 7, 2011, Carlos Castro was discovered by a hotel worker. The cause of death was ruled as blunt injuries to the head and neck compression.
The two men arrived in the United States together in 2010.
The Portuguese model murder case will draw to a close on December 21, 2012 when Renato Seabra is officially sentenced for his grizzly murder of his former lover.
