Posted on: August 01, 2026 11:00 AM

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North massapequa man indicted for raping killing sister in law

Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a North Massapequa man was indicted today for raping and murdering his 25-year-old sister-in-law in their shared home while his wife was out of town.

Joseph Horner, 27, was arraigned today before Judge Howard Sturim on grand jury indictment charges of Murder in the First Degree (an A-I felony); two counts of Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony); and two counts of Rape in the First Degree (a B violent felony).

The defendant pleaded not guilty and was remanded. He is due back in court on August 19, 2026. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

“Joseph Horner allegedly lured his unsuspecting sister-in-law with an innocuous favor, strangled, and brutally raped her in her own bed,” said DA Donnelly. “This vicious attack was the act of a deranged individual suffering from an unrequited love and sick lust dating back more than a decade. Joseph Horner saw his chance when his wife was out of town, and he allegedly took it. Now, a bright young woman with a promising future is dead. Our thoughts remain with the Castle family as they continue to endure this indescribable pain and heartbreak and as we pursue justice for Victoria.”

DA Donnelly said that, according to the indictment, on June 29, 2026, at approximately 8:40 a.m., the Nassau County Police Department received a 911 call to a multi-family home on North Oak Street in North Massapequa.

When police arrived, they found the defendant sitting outside on the stoop and located 25-year-old Victoria Castle, the defendant’s sister-in-law, inside the ground-floor apartment lying naked and unresponsive on her bed.

The victim was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where she was pronounced deceased.

Castle had been living in a separate apartment in the same house as the defendant and her sister since 2024. According to the investigation, earlier that morning, at approximately 7:45 a.m., the defendant allegedly asked the victim to help him move a keyboard piano to his upstairs apartment that he shared with his wife.  

After moving the keyboard piano, the defendant returned to the victim’s ground-floor apartment to retrieve the bench.

Once downstairs, Horner allegedly attacked the victim from behind and placed her in a chokehold until her body went limp.

According to the investigation, the defendant then removed the victim’s clothes, placed her on her bed, and raped her.

An autopsy was conducted and revealed that the victim’s cause of death was determined to be manual strangulation. 

The defendant was arrested by the Nassau County Police Department’s Homicide Squad on June 29, 2026.

From DA