UPDATE: Engelica Elisa Castillo And Timothy John Tkachik
POLICE HAVE TO STUN JADA JUSTICE SUSPECT BEFORE HEARING
by Bill Dolan, The NorthWest Indiana Times
CROWN POINT | Lake County police had to use a stun gun Monday morning on one of the two adults now charged with the murder of 2-year-old Jada Justice.
Tim Tkachik, 24, of Hobart, appeared for his initial hearing Monday morning with his head bandaged and a prominent bruise on his left cheek.
Michael Higgins, a spokesman for county police, said Tkachik became disruptive in a holding cell shortly before the court session. “He got up on a table and was trying to get into an electrical panel. He was asked nicely to get down and when he didn’t they had to use a Tazer,” Higgins said.
Higgins said jail medical staff tended to Tkachik’s injuries arising from the incident.
His 18-year-old girlfriend, Engelica Castillo, also of Hobart was visibly trembling during the court session as she stood a few feet from Tkachik and heard they both were being charged with neglecting, battering and murdering Jada on June 13 as well as being charged with lying to police in their effort to cover up the crime.
The girl’s disappearance sparked a nine-day search by family, friends and members of the public caught up in the drama.
Lake Criminal Court Magistrate Natalie Bakota entered innocent pleas on behalf of Tkachik and Castillo’s and said they will be held without bond until trial.
Merrillville attorney T. Edward Page, who represented Castillo’s family last week, patted Castillo’s shoulder in an effort to comfort her during the hour-long session.
Police say Jada’s mother, Melissa Swiontek, left the child with Castillo June 8 for an extended period. Castillo and Swiontek are cousins. Police allege Castillo fatally beat the victim after becoming angry with her.
She and Tkachik tried to dispose of the body by burning it. Tkachik said he only suceeded in burning himself. They finally encased the child in concrete and dumped her in a swamp north of Westville in LaPorte County near Tkachik’s family home. Tkachik directed police to the place where they recovered the body last week.
Castillo told police that someone abducted Jada from her car June 16 while it was parked outside a Glen Park service station in Gary.
Tkachik, who initially agreed with Castillo’s story, later told police that his girlfriend killed the girl. Tkachik said he and Castillo were using heroin and marijuana throughout the period leading up and after Jada’s death.
Tkachik briefly disrupted the court session Monday as the magistrate was questioning Castillo about whether she could afford a private lawyer or needed a court-appointed attorney who would defend her a taxpayer expense.
Castillo said she cannot afford to retain Page in the future. Bakota said the Lake County Public Defender’s staff will appoint a new attorney to represent her.
As the magistrate was questioning Castillo about her lack of income, Tkachik said Castillo wasn’t disclosing all her family’s income. “You get child support. She gets child support,” Tkachik said.
A source close to the family said Castillo doesn’t have children and that Tkachik is referring to child support Castillo’s mother is owed.
The magistrate warned Tkachik not to interrupt her or Castillo. She repeatedly told Tkachik to pay attention to her and not talk about other matters.
Tkachik said he plans to hire his own lawyer.
Page said her defense will require more financial resources then her family can afford. Page said he may assist the public defender’s staff in her case at some future date if asked.
The magistrate ordered both to appear in Criminal Court next week for the beginning of a series pre-trial hearing. No trial date has been set.
So what do you think guys? Does this sound like two Junkies who are jonesing on heroin or what? Knowing exactly what they’re going through, I almost have sympathy for Castillo and Tkachik, until I think of little Jada’s last moments on earth. That’s when I thank God for physical addiction. Believe me, they’re hurting – they haven’t ate or slept in at least 4 days, and the muscle cramps and spasms are at their worst right now.
29 Comments »
Thanks Max. That makes me feel all happy inside.
It’s not much compared to what they put this child through, but it’s probably worse in reality than just sitting a fucking jail cell for however many years Indiana makes it’s murderers actually serve.
and where is the mother in all this, what crime will she be charged with knowing that she left her child with drug heads?
SHES BEING CHARGED WITH NOT HAVING A CHILD ANYMORE!!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS? WHY WOULD ANYONE CHARGE HER? IM SURE SHE HAD NO IDEA THEY WERE USING.
they should charge her for neglect and she had to have known they were junkies it doesnt take a genius to know!!!!!! Parents should know who they leave their kids with!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Andi: Oh, come on. Have you ever seen/known a heroin addict before? They are super-easy to spot, on account of the drooling, confused stupor, and track marks. Seriously! Lady H is not the kind of drug you can hide from your Country Club buddies.
While I don’t think the child’s mother should be charged, per se, I think her neglectful behaviour toward the little girl is evident.
look i feel for her i lost a 12 year old son last year from accidental drowning, but there’s no fucking excuse for leaving your kid with someone you don’t know very well she should be at least held for negligence come on,by all accounts if she had paid attention realy to who she was leaving this child with her child wouldn’t be dead.
LoL, I was thinking the same thing Max , Jonesing for the big “H”. Do you think Tim was trying to kill himself in the electric panel ???. or just trying to get out of court and having to face the friends and family of poor little dead Jada????
Probably a bit of both Taz. I’m kind of surprised they haven’t been getting Methadone to ease the withdrawals, but the fact is as uncomfortable as the jones is, it’s rarely, if ever, fatal. That’s what I was told when I would beg a doctor for something to “just take the edge off”.
peaches – leaving your kid with a babysitter is not a crime. Unless TPTB can prove that she knew Castillo would do this, I don’t see how she can be charged. Unless something is left out of this write-up?
ya your right its not a crime to leave ur kid with a babysitter but know who ur leaving ur kid with cause a junkie doesnt turn to one overnite she had to have known she was on sometype of drug what about someone over 18yrs old obviously ur not a parent…… so i agree the mother needs some kind of time for neglect!!!!!!!!!!
child protective services can charge the mom with neglect because she choose the sitter. i almost lost my child due to someone else negligence, and i was hit with “lack of supervision” 9 years later and that charge is still on my C.A.N.T.S record…
I did a fair amount of research on this case, and I believe that the family trusted Engelica, and they trusted the boyfriend too. I would not go out on a limb and say that Jada’s mom was a candidate for mother of the year, but what I found indicated that, at least in this case, she seemed to be acting responsibly.
I have found nothing that indicates that there was any reason to suspect that this girl would kill a baby. I haven’t seen or heard anything about CPS being involved with the family in any way, and I know that Jada’s father and stepmother were involved in her life. So it doesn’t sound like there were big neon lights blinking “dysfunctional family” around this group.
Nothing supports Engelica’s claim that Jada was left there to be potty trained either. But even if that was true, it’s not THAT crazy of an idea. Well, at least it wouldn’t have been that crazy if she wasn’t a baby killer.
Max, somehow that made me feel better to know that they are going through painful withdrawl right now.
My question is: would heroin have the effect of making a usually non-violent person… violent? Cause I know weed sure doesn’t.
Sure, with certain people. While I was happy as a clam when I was high, I turned into a evil son of a bitch on the way down, long before the sickness ever kicked in. Junkies live for the “nod”, that heavenly place between consciousness and unconsciousness, and a whining 3-year-old with a pantload of poop could be a huge buzzkill. It doesn’t last that long, so if someone essentially made me waste my dope, yeah, I’d be pissed off. Those are just a couple of ways I can think of that someone on dope might lose it with a small child.
…… sadly I think this was a horrible accident by two idiot junkies. Heroin distorts reality. And yes, In some cases newly addicts become uncontrollably violent.
I want to believe this was because stupidity and drugs… They both will pay the cost. Unequal to the cost of a life.
However, Death is easier than withdraws….
I for one am glad these two vermin aren’t getting methadone to “ease their withdrawls”….screw their ease. I hope the suffering is bad for them. It’s still much less suffering than Jada went through, I imagine. No one came along and gave her pain medicine to ease her pain before she died. Fuck these two.
I’m still wondering on this one………so far it doesn’t seem the girl has said anything…..if she is guilty, she should suffer—but I can’t help but wonder if this is one of those situations where the boyfriend did it, and she’s so scared of him, she’s basically letting him put the blame on her–not that it would make her a great person by any means-= regardless, she still lied to authorities, possibly still was on drugs (any word on whether she was tested in jail?), still allowed this man to be in her house while she was responsible for a child, etc, etc……either way she had a hand in the death–I’m just wondering if she’s actually the one that did the killing or not……
I don’t really think it matters much WHO killed the kid. They both participated in the coverup. He was burned trying to destroy the corpse, and she acted like someone kidnapped Jada THREE days after the poor baby died. It’s clear that they both knew she was dead, and they were both trying to cover for it.
Regardless, it takes a cold-hearted bitch to not confess, and to let her family believe that their beloved child was kidnapped – perhaps imagining the torture the kidnapper might be putting the baby through. I mean, really, as a parent, I would say that I would be more comforted to know that she was dead and not suffering, rather than to think she was actively experiencing the horrible things that pedophiles do to their victims.
Can I stun-gun them? Huh? Can I? Can I? Puhleeeeeze?
I have a hot pink zapper, I would be willing to share with you, but I get to go first, K? lol.
Oh, and just for future reference… I read recently that keeping a can of wasp spray handy can be a smart move. The stuff shoots out at least 25 feet and will bring a guy to his knees twitching if you get him in the face. Of course, law enforcement doesn’t really like this idea, but it sure wouldn’t hurt as a backup plan or in states where you can’t have a tazer.
When I read the initial post on Jada eariler this week, I was pissed to see Engelica’s shit eating grin. I’m glad thats now been wiped from the bitch’s face. As for him- two words- “prison bride”.
they both need the death penalty cause being in jail still has them breathing while jada isnt and the mother need to get jail time for neglect cause she left jada with drug addicts she had to have known they were doing drugs im sure theyre were responsible people to leave her with or she should have been a MOTHER and took her along!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who goes 3-4 days without calling ur child she shouldve called EVERYDAY to hear her daughters voice. Ooooh im not gonna get started so i will end it like this R.I.P. Jada Justice
No, Lizette, please do get started – LoL. We’re all pretty much feeling the same thing, and this message board is a good, safe place to vent the anger you’re feeling. You seem to have a real talent for blowing off steam too.
So if withdrawal is that painful how about a new punishment-given them heroin, make them withdraw, give them heroin, make them go threw withdrawal again for the length of their sentences, just a thought
Inject them with needles full of rubbing alcohol. do it in 5 minute intervals in different locations throughout their filthy bodies.
Too bad the burn marks look like their starting to fade from Timothy’s face. I think he’s an evil bastard, but I think Engelica was the catalyst that lead to this horrific crime. I hope she gets her ass beat to a pulp by the inmates that are missing their children because their locked up!
This is truly sad. I live near Hobart/Gary and received a flyer from the mother…they were passing those out by the gas station everyday. Pretty obvious when you hear the boyfriend had recently burnt his face.
The mom shouldn’t be punished, I’m sure she’ll be more paranoid and precautious with her kin than most. She is going to need therapy, drugs are not the answer at this time.
Withdrawals…I experience them and while they’re tortuous, nothing makes me feel better after a crime like this…I guess b/c it’s so close to home. I’ve likely been in the same store as one of these people. Just makes me ask “why” without ever getting the answer that makes sense. I understand “how” (drug addiction, anger), but why did this happen? Why did those Ukrainian boys murder? Why are there violent, horrible deaths in the name of religion? God Bless
I hope these two disgusting humans have withdrawal symptoms for the rest of lives……..hate them…
there is basically nothing worse then a child murderer, especially when its family or close to the family! give them a syringe full of air or battery acid or something that will either hurt or kill. may these fuckers rot!