Teen accused of tampering hid boyfriend’s gun after Fort Worth shooting, warrant says
A 19-year-old woman hid her boyfriend’s handgun in a drainage culvert after a deadly shooting in January at her Fort Worth apartment, according to a warrant.
Her boyfriend died after an exchange of gunfire with another man, the warrant says.
Initially, Kayla Baughman told Fort Worth detectives she had walked into the apartment in the 6500 block of Melwood Street while holding hands with her boyfriend and she didn’t mention his handgun.
But Baughman later confessed that she had lied about the gun because she didn’t want Christopher Castorena to get in trouble if he survived the shooting, according to her arrest warrant obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Wednesday.
He didn’t survive.
Baughman was booked into jail Tuesday afternoon and she was charged Thursday with tampering with evidence, according to Tarrant County criminal court records.
Baughman was free Thursday on $20,000 bail.
The Fort Worth woman could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
Her boyfriend, Christopher Castorena, died on the night of Jan. 15, the day after the shooting. Another man was wounded. When asked if charges would be filed against the wounded man involved in the exchange of gunfire, Fort Worth police said Thursday that their investigation is ongoing.
The warrant written by Detective M. Barron on the evidence tampering charge gave this account of the shooting:
Baughman told the detective that a man arrived with her grandmother and another friend at her Fort Worth apartment on Jan. 14.
Initially, Baughman told police Castorena wasn’t home because he was attending a family’s birthday party. She later confessed that her boyfriend had left the apartment a couple of days before Jan. 14 after they had had an argument.
At first, Baughman said her grandmother and a friend left the apartment, leaving her alone with the man who had arrived with them. She said she was not comfortable with the man in the apartment while her boyfriend was gone. She said she even called Castorena and asked him to return.
Baughman said she was scared of the man, asked him to leave and walked out of the apartment. She believed the man planned to kill her, she told police.
In her first story to police, Baughman said she re-entered the apartment after it took the man a long time to unlock the door. She said the man yelled and cursed at her, according to the warrant.
Initially, Baughman said that Castorena arrived, they held hands for a second and he entered the apartment. She heard a series of bangs and saw Castorena was shot, according to the warrant.
But detectives later confronted Baughman about her story, which did not match the evidence — specifically, there were fired semi-automatic casings in the apartment but no semi-automatic firearm was found there.
In addition, a smeared blood pattern leading from the entry door to the bedroom indicated Castorena was much further in the apartment than she had said when he was shot.
Detectives also questioned Baughman on why she wanted to re-enter the apartment if she was scared that the man might kill her, according to the warrant.
Baughman then told police that while her boyfriend was away she tried to have sex with the other man twice, but he could not perform, according to the warrant. She became angry, believing she was not good enough.
She texted Castorena, telling him she was alone with the man and that she had “(expletive) up.”
Castorena asked Baughman if she had sex with the man, and he was angry when he arrived at the apartment, the warrant stated.
Castorena entered the bedroom armed with a handgun and told the man, “Say, bro, didn’t she tell you that you need to move,” according to the warrant.
The man told Castorena he did not want any problems, the warrant says.
Seconds later, Baughman saw Castorena raise his handgun and there was an exchange of gunfire.
This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 4:21 PM.
