A North Massapequa man practiced a chokehold on a stuffed animal shortly before allegedly using the same technique to strangle and rape his 25-year-old sister-in-law, prosecutors said as they announced his indictment on murder and rape charges.
Joseph Horner, 27, was arraigned Wednesday, July 29, before Judge Howard Sturim on one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree rape, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly announced.
Horner, who worked as a music teacher in the Oceanside School District, pleaded not guilty and was remanded without bail. He could face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.
Prosecutors presented an image taken from surveillance footage that allegedly showed Horner practicing the chokehold on a pink stuffed animal approximately 15 minutes before the June 29 attack.
According to the indictment, Nassau County police received a 911 call at about 8:40 a.m. regarding a multifamily home on North Oak Street in North Massapequa.
When officers arrived, they found Horner sitting outside on the front stoop. Inside a ground-floor apartment, officers discovered his sister-in-law, Victoria Castle, naked and unresponsive on her bed.
Castle was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. An autopsy determined that she died from manual strangulation.
Castle was pursuing a doctorate at Stony Brook University and had lived in a separate apartment in the same house as Horner and her sister since 2024.
Prosecutors said Horner asked Castle at about 7:45 a.m. that morning to help him move a keyboard piano into the upstairs apartment he shared with his wife, who was out of town.
After the piano was moved, Horner allegedly returned downstairs to retrieve its bench. Prosecutors said he attacked Castle from behind and placed her in the same type of chokehold he had practiced until her body went limp.
Horner then allegedly removed Castle’s clothing, placed her on the bed and raped her.
“Joseph Horner allegedly lured his unsuspecting sister-in-law with an innocuous favor, strangled, and brutally raped her in her own bed,” Donnelly said.
Prosecutors also said Horner accepted a FaceTime call from his wife after allegedly rendering Castle unconscious and acted as though nothing was wrong.
Donnelly said Horner later changed his clothes, called 911 and waited outside for police. Authorities said he admitted what he had done and directed responding officers to the downstairs apartment.
Prosecutors alleged that Horner had been fixated on Castle since meeting her in 2017 while he was dating her older sister.
Horner was arrested June 29 by detectives with the Nassau County Police Department’s Homicide Squad.
His wife and members of Castle’s family attended Wednesday’s arraignment but did not speak with reporters.
Horner is scheduled to return to court Aug. 19.
The charges are accusations. Horner is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Photo: NCDA
