PhD Student’s Wedding Tribute Turns Deadly

A New York PhD student allegedly raped and murdered by her own brother-in-law once praised him as “one of the most wonderful people in the world” in a now-haunting tribute posted on the day he married her sister.

The chilling Facebook post from Victoria Castle has taken on a devastating new meaning after prosecutors say Joseph Horner, 27, brutally attacked and killed the 25-year-old doctoral student inside the Long Island home they shared with family.

“My sister, my person, my partner in chaos, is now married to one of the most wonderful people in the world,” Castle wrote alongside a wedding photo of Horner kissing her sister.

“I love you both forever!” she added.

Less than three years later, police say that same man turned on her in an unthinkable act of violence.

Horner, a music teacher in the Oceanside School District, is accused of sexually assaulting and strangling Castle inside their shared North Massapequa home on June 29 while his wife was away on a bachelorette trip, according to authorities.

Prosecutors said at his arraignment that Horner had been “obsessed” with Castle for more than a decade before the alleged attack.

The family lived in a multi-family home, with Horner and his wife staying in the upstairs apartment while Castle lived in the ground-floor unit, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

Authorities say Horner allegedly lured Castle by asking her to help move a piano. Once she was there, prosecutors claim he attacked her from behind, placed her in a chokehold and strangled her until she went limp.

He then allegedly stripped her and raped her, officials said.

Castle, a PhD student at Stony Brook University, was later found dead inside the home.

In a shocking twist, prosecutors say Horner called 911 after the killing and waited for police to arrive. He allegedly admitted to detectives that he carried out the horrific attack.

He was arrested at the scene on a homicide charge.

The case has horrified Long Island residents and shaken those who knew Castle, whose joyful wedding-day tribute now reads like a heartbreaking warning no one could have seen coming.

A young woman who once celebrated her sister’s marriage is now gone, and the man she welcomed into the family stands accused of destroying it from within.