Jada Justice (2) R.I.P.

Family, friends gather to remember Jada
By Deborah Laverty and Melissa Deavers
Times Staff Writers | Friday, June 26, 2009

http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2009/06/26/news/top/docdb75f1fe75d6ddde862575e1000b167a.txt



JESSICA A. WOOLF | THE TIMES Michelle Burt of Gary lights a candle at a memorial for Jada Justice Thursday outside the Glen Park Gas Station in Gary where Jada Justice was declared missing on June 16.

GARY | Jada Justice's father joined supporters Thursday night at the Gary gas station that had been at the center of the search for his 2-year-old daughter.

Clarence Justice attended the gathering with his pastor and remembered his daughter as he fought back tears.

"I will remember her hugs and kisses and the way she used to say my name, CJ," Justice said. "My daughter is in a better place. She is in God's hands."

Among those who gathered throughout the day to remember Jada and pray for her parents was Cassandra Warmack, who carefully arranged stuffed animals and a pink silk rose on top of a concrete block in tribute to the toddler.

Warmack, a friend of Jada's parents, said she had just learned that a body assumed to be that of the young girl was found earlier that day.

"I wish I could tell her parents that I'm sorry," Warmack said. "I wish we could have found her alive."

Warmack was creating a memorial on a concrete block just outside the Glen Park Gas station, at Ridge Road and Louisiana Street.

Police were called there June 16 after Jada was reported missing by 18-year-old Engelica Castillo, who had been baby-sitting the toddler in her Hobart home. Castillo told police she had gone into the gas station to buy milk and cigarettes and came outside to find Jada missing from her vehicle.

Now sources close to the investigation say Castillo and her boyfriend have been taken into custody in what has become a homicide investigation.

Other friends of Jada's parents came out to support each other Thursday as many clung to each other and cried. Among the cars parked at the gas station, several still posted fliers about Jada's disappearance, despite the earlier announcement that authorities believe they had found the girl's body in rural LaPorte County.

Pat Sullivan, a friend of Jada's father, began helping as soon as he heard Jada was missing by posting fliers throughout several surrounding communities. One volunteer estimated that hundreds of people came out to help the family in its search for Jada.

"I have a 2-year-old and a 2-month-old. If it was me, I'd want the same treatment," Sullivan said.

Angie Balboa, a friend of Jada's mother, Melissa Swiontek, said she felt lost but was relieved to finally have some closure.

"It's going to take time for the sadness to go away, but Jada will always be in our hearts," Balboa said.

Clarence Justice's wife, Elizabeth Justice, said the family is planning a prayer service for Saturday at the gas station.

Times photographer Jessica A. Woolf contributed to this report.

The Brutal Murder Of Jada Justice
June 28, 2009 by FlamingFox
Hobart, IN- “She was wearing an orange skirt and a tank top with orange and green stripes.” That was what 18-year old Engelico Castillo told the police on the night of June 16, when her 2-year old cousin, Jada Justice, went missing. Castillo said she went to a gas station in Gary and left Jada in her car-seat in the back seat of her unlocked vehicle while she went inside to purchase cigarettes and milk. When she returned, Jada was gone. Panic engulfed the child’s family, police, and surrounding community as they searched for the missing child. Other customers at the gas station told police they saw no one around Castillo’s car that night. Police brought dogs to aid in the search, but found no scent of Jada in the area. Police also sought the assistance of other agencies, including the F.B.I. as well as the U.S. Marshal’s Service. A day after her supposed disappearance, Jada was still missing, despite a massive search that spanned two neighboring cities and lasted more than 18 hours.


Engelica Castillo and Tim Tkachik (Crispy and Uncrispy)
This was when police decided to call off the search and focus their attention on Engelica Castillo. Castillo said she immediately noticed Jada missing that night when she opened the front door on the passenger side of her car. She dropped her purchased items and ran back into the station to have the teller call the police. When she called Jada’s mother and informed her Jada was missing, Swiontek asked her if she checked the area or yelled out for Jada. Castillo told her, “No, I knew she was already gone.” When questioned by police, Castillo remained calm without emotion. She said she had cried and prayed all night for Jada’s return and didn’t have any tears left. When an officer showed her Jada’s picture and told her he didn’t believe her story, she became angry, slapped at the officer’s arm and picture, and said, “You are lying and don’t know what you’re talking about.” Again, the officer placed Jada’s picture in front of Castillo and she attempted to strike the officer in the face. Castillo was restrained for 30 seconds until she finally calmed down, and that was when she told the officer, “God is taking care of her. God is watching over her.” When Castillo’s 23-year old boyfriend, Timothy Tkachik, was questioned he was suffering from some serious second-degree burns to his face and arms that he said was due to his propane grill catching fire days prior to Jada’s disappearance. Investigators didn’t believe him either and the following story is what Tkachik said happened to little Jada.

After doing several lines of heroin with Castillo on the night of June 12, he and Castillo awoke around 11 a.m. the next day. Castillo went to check on Jada and he knew she was angry with Jada for soiling her pants because he could hear her yelling. Castillo began spanking Jada and pulling her hair and when Jada didn’t cry, she became even more angrier and hit her harder. Castillo slapped Jada causing the child to fall and hit her head on a table causing a small cut. Castillo then made Jada stand in the corner and left the room. She returned as soon as Jada began acting up again and began punching her in the head. Unable to stop the bitch, Tkachik went to another room to watch television. Around 7 p.m. that evening, Tkachik and Castillo planned to travel to someones house to purchase more heroin. Castillo got Jada ready and put her in Tkachik’s Tahoe. It was when they were on the highway that Tkachik realized Jada was not breathing. He jumped into the backseat and began performing CPR on her. Castillo pulled over, began screaming and crying, and tried to perform CPR on the child as well. When Tkachik realized Jada was dead, he told Castillo, “I told you to stop. I told you enough is enough.”

The couple returned home, parked in the driveway, covered Jada’s body with a car cover, and left her in the back seat. Then they got into Castillo’s car and headed back to the house to buy drugs and then to Chicago(). When they returned that night, they checked on Jada. At first, they believed she was breathing and so Castillo once again tried giving her CPR. But Jada was dead, her tiny head was covered with several bruises and bumps, marks to tell the truth behind her brutal murder. Tkachik wrapped her body in 3 garbage bags, took her down to the basement, and then he and Castillo went to bed. They spent most of the next day trying to come up with ways to get rid of the body. Around 3:30 that afternoon, Tkachik placed Jada’s body in the back of his Tahoe and he and Castillo went to a Menard’s store in Michigan City where he purchased a metal garbage can. Tkachik then went to a gas station, purchased some charcoal, lighter fluid, and gas for a gas can he brought along. The couple headed to a wooded area in LaPorte County and it was there that they poured the gas and lighter fluid into a hole they had found. They dumped Jada’s body into the hole along with the charcoal. When Tkachik lit a piece of the charcoal bag and dropped it into the hole, it created an explosion which is the real explanation behind his burns. When the fire went out they discovered it had only burned the bags and Jada’s body could still be seen. They left her in the hole and drove back home to think of another plan.

The following morning, June 15, Tkachik grabbed three more garbage bags and the couple drove back to the wooded area to retrieve Jada’s body. On their way back home, they stopped again at the Menard’s and purchased a braided rope, four 50 lbs. bags of instant cement, a blue 20 gallon tote container with a lid, and a 600 lb. capacity dolly. At home, Tkachik took the items along with Jada’s body to the basement. He removed Jada’s body from the garbage bags and placed her in the tote along with the cement. Tkachik then poured water into the tote and used a space heater to dry the concrete. Once the cement was dry, Tkachik and Castillo loaded the tote into his vehicle, drove back to the same wooded area, and carried it to an area by a swamp. Tkachik then used a small saw to cut the tote from the cement because he knew their fingerprints were on it. They shoved the cement into the water where it eventually sank below the surface. The couple went back home, did some more heroin and went to bed. The following day was when Tkachik came up with the plan of saying Jada had been abducted. On June 25, Tkachik directed officers to Jada Justice’s watery grave. The cemented tomb was transported to the coroner’s office and it was there that Jada’s body was identified. Jada’s tiny skull had numerous fractures and the outfit she wore was the only thing her murderer told the truth about. Jada was dressed in an orange skirt and a tank top with orange and green stripes. Engelica Castillo and Tim Tkachik are now being held without bond in the Lake County Jail. They are both charged with murder, neglect of a dependent, battery and false informing. R. I. P. Little Jada Justice. May both of these worthless assholes rot in Hell for extinguishing the light from your innocent, yet, trustful eyes.

http://www.dreamindemon.com/2009/06/28/the-brutal-murder-of-jada-justice/

Trial date set for Jada Justice murder

A trial date has been set for a Northwest Indiana woman charged in the murder of two-year-old Jada Justice.

The trial of Engelica Castillo, 18, is set to begin on December 7th.

The Hobart woman is charged with murder, neglect of a dependent, battery and false informing. Castillo and her boyfriend Timothy Tkachik are both charged in the June 13th murder of Jada Justice.

The two-year-old's body was found more than a week after Castillo reported the girl missing. Castillo was her babysitter. She has entered a not guilty plea.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sec...cal&id=6913179

Jada's dad seeks custody of her brothers
Slain toddler's father says boys, 6 and 1, will be 'safer' with him and stepmother.




VALPARAISO -- The father of Jada Justice will ask a judge to give him custody of her two brothers.

Clarence Justice said he and his wife can provide a safe home for the boys, ages 6 and 1, who are his children with Jada's mother, Melissa Swiontek.

Swiontek's cousin, Engelica Castillo, is charged with murder and neglect of a dependent for allegedly hitting 2-year-old Jada in the head and causing the toddler's death.

Swiontek left Jada with Castillo, 18, and Castillo's boyfriend, Tim Tkachik, for several days while Swiontek went on a trip.

Clarence Justice, who was never married to Swiontek, said he took care of Jada and her two brothers on alternate weekends and hopes to gain full custody of the boys at an emergency hearing Wednesday in Porter County Juvenile Court.

"I just feel my boys are safer in my arms than with anybody else," Clarence Justice said. "I'm working steady, they have a stay-at-home stepmom to look after them."

The Post-Tribune was unable to reach Swiontek.

who has said she wanted harsh punishment for her cousin.

Prosecutors said Tkachik told them Swiontek left Jada with them June 8. Four days later he saw Castillo rapping Jada on the head with her knuckles because the girl was being potty trained. Several hours later, Jada appeared to stop breathing as the toddler sat in the back of their car as the couple drove to buy heroin. The couple later made a bungled attempt to burn Jada's body, then tried to seal the body in concrete and dump it in a LaPorte County swamp.

Castillo then told police Jada was taken or crawled out of her car while Castillo was buying milk and cigarettes at a Glen Park gas station, touching off an eight-hour search for the girl that ended as police became increasingly suspicious

Tkachik also has been charged in Jada's murder.

http://www.post-trib.com/news/1664104,jada.article

Father awarded temporary custody of Jada's siblings
Slain toddler's dad will have two sons for summer, pending second hearing.


VALPARAISO -- Jada Justice's father will take temporary, partial custody of his two sons.

A Porter County Juvenile Court judge on Wednesday awarded Clarence Justice custody of his sons, ages 1 and 6, with Melissa Swiontek.

Swiontek, whose cousin, Engelica Castillo is charged in the murder of 2-year-old Jada, declined comment on the hearing, saying only that Justice would have custody of the two boys "for the rest of the summer" pending a second hearing, and that she would still have partial custody of the boys.

The Post-Tribune was unable to reach attorneys for Swiontek and Justice, and calls to Clarence Justice were not returned.

Both Justice and Swiontek live in Portage.

The couple never married and split a year ago without setting a formal custody agreement, she said, though Justice paid child support and would often take custody of the boys and Jada on alternate weekends.

Swiontek left 2-year-old Jada in the care of her 18-year-old cousin, Castillo, June 8, when Lake County prosecutors allege she beat Jada to death, then tried with her boyfriend, Timothy Tkachik, to get rid of the body and tell police the girl disappeared from her car while she was buying milk and cigarettes at a Gary gas station.

In fact, Tkachik told police he saw Castillo rapping the 2-year-old on the head repeatedly at their Hobart home, and that Jada stopped breathing while in the back seat of their car as they drove to Portage to buy drugs.

They tried to burn the toddler's body, and failing that, encased the burned remains in concrete and dumped the body in a swamp in LaPorte County.

LaPorte County Coroner John Sullivan said an autopsy report has been filed with the Lake County Prosecutor's office and that the record is sealed. Sullivan ruled the cause of death was blunt force trauma and that Justice was the victim of a homicide.

Swiontek said the long-term separation will be difficult for her young children, who have already suffered the loss of their sister.

"They're doing better than I expected. We talk about Jada and try to do fun things, like look at her pictures," she said. "We still go out and try to do family things."

http://www.post-trib.com/news/1668006,jada.article

Prosecutors seeking life sentence in Jada Justice’s death
LaPorte County, IN

Prosecutors are seeing a life sentence without parole for a baby sitter charged with killing a toddler.

Prosecutors are seeing a life sentence without parole for a baby sitter charged with killing a toddler.

In June, 2-year-old Jada Justice was found in a swampy area near LaPorte.

Her body had been dumped there after being burned and encased in concrete.

Prosecutors are seeking the life sentence if Engelica Castillo, 18 is convicted. Castillo was Jada's cousin and babysitter.

She and her boyfriend Timothy Tkachik, 24, are each charged with murder, neglect, battery and false informing.

http://www.wndu.com/hometop/headlines/59840712.html

Jada Justice Case Advances
September 3, 2009
Trail dates are imminent for the babysitter and boyfriend accused of murdering
Jada Justice -


Jada Justice's Accused Murderers to Come to Trial

The Dec. 7 jury trial of a Hobart woman charged with murder and neglect of a dependent in the beating death of a Portage toddler has been affirmed.

Engelica Elisa Castillo, 19, has pleaded not guilty to the charges filed June 26 in the death of Jada Justice, who sustained numerous skull fractures.

Defense attorney Lemuel Stigler and trial supervisor David Urbanski told Lake Superior Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr. they are cooperating in accomplishing discovery before the case goes to trial.

The girl’s mother, Melissa Swiontek, left Jada in Castillo’s care June 8 for a two-week stay. Castillo is Swiontek’s cousin.

On June 16, Castillo reported the child had been taken from her car outside a gas station at Ridge Road and Louisiana Street in Gary after she left the girl unattended while she went inside to buy cigarettes and bottled water.

The statement by Castillo prompted a massive search for the girl that ended June 25 when Castillo’s boyfriend and co-defendant, Timothy John Tkachik, led authorities to a swampy, wooded area near Otis where Jada’s body was found encased in cement.

Tkachik, 23, of Hobart, also charged with murder and neglect of a dependent, is scheduled for a hearing Sept. 18.

Ind. Woman Lashes Out During Sentencing
"I'm not the lowest of the low, as the prosecutor has labeled me," Engelica Castillo says in court.

The woman convicted of killing her 2-year-old cousin lashed out at prosecutors who called her the "lowest of the low" during her sentencing in an Indiana courtroom on Thursday.

"How dare someone put that lable on anybody," Engelica Castillo spouted off. "You're not perfect."

Castillo was given a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for the murder of her young cousin, Jada Justice, who was found burned and encased in concrete last year.

In a deal with prosecutors, her then-boyfriend, 25-year-old Timothy Tkachik, agreed to plead guilty to two counts of neglect of a dependent for his involvement in the crime in return for testimony against Castillo.


Engelica Castillo


Jada Justice

Timothy Tkachik

He faces 20 to 50 years in prison when he's sentenced Friday, a punishment that Castillo clearly felt was unfair when compared to hers.

"He couldn't keep his story straight. He kept adding things," said Castillo, referring to Tkachik's testimony during the trial.

Castillo testified that she felt threatened by Tkachik and was following his instructions.

"You couldn't hear... what was said to me, the things he told me," she said. "Tim told me, 'You'll be laying next to her.' I know what he's capable of."

Still, the plea had little impact on Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr., who questioned if Castillo understood "the magnitude of what's going on here."

Aside from shaking her foot nervously, Castillo displayed very little, if any, remorse. It was a point noted in the remarks from Justice's mother, Melissa Swiontek.

"She got what she deserved. She had so many chances, but she never said, 'I'm sorry,'" said Swiontek.

A Lake County, Ind., jury last month took just two hours to convict the 20-year-old Hobart woman, who was babysitting Justice at the time of her death.

Castillo told police June 18, 2009, she left Jada in the car at a Gary, Ind., gas station, where she went to get milk. When she came out the girl was gone.

A week after the girl vanished, Tkachik led investigators to her body in LaPorte. She'd been burned and encased in concrete.

Tkachik testified that Castillo became irritated at the little girl for dumping a package of drink mix and spilling a container of syrup. Tkachik said an angry Castillo repeatedly struck the child.

He admitted to striking the girl several times on the head and holding the toddler down while Castillo repeatedly struck her with a belt. Tkachik said that Jada stopped breathing while in a vehicle with him and Castillo and they failed to get medical help for the child.

Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/justice-castillo-sentencing-102557924.html#ixzz19SjN2xHp