South Side Stabbing: Milwaukee man sentenced to 11 years in prison

MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee man who stabbed his estranged wife to death was sentenced to 11 years in prison Friday.

Prosecutors initially charged 35-year-old Jonathan Castanon-Varela with attempted first-degree intentional murder. In July, as part of a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to the less serious offense of first-degree reckless assault and a stalking charge was dropped.

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Case details

Police were called to the stabbing near 73rd and Beloit around 3:50 a.m. on Jan. 10, 2023. A criminal complaint states officers found the victim holding her stomach and there was a “pool of blood” on the floor. She told police that Castanon-Varela, her estranged husband, came into her home and stabbed her with a serrated kitchen knife. He then said, “I told you so, I told you so,” according to the victim, before fleeing the scene.

Cameras in the victim's home captured part of the incident. The footage shows Castanon-Varela coming in, and the complaint states the victim was heard repeatedly yelling “stop” and screaming. Castanon-Varela was then seen running out of the house, past the garage and down Hayes Avenue until he was out of sight.

According to the complaint, the victim came home on the day of the stabbing, saw a brown SUV parked in the alley and pulled up in front of her house. The victim said she saw Castanon-Varela get out of the SUV and, frightened, try to get into her house – but Castanon-Varela “was able to close the distance and pull the door open.”

Inside, the victim said Castanon-Varela first hit her with the handle of the knife before stabbing her “four or five times.” She said she didn't realize she had been stabbed until she felt a “warm sensation” and saw blood “gushing out.” The complaint states that at the time, the victim believed Castanon-Varela was going to kill her and that she was going to die.

The day after the stabbing, the victim agreed to speak with Castanon-Varela in a phone call recorded and monitored by police. The complaint states that the victim asked Castanon-Varela “why” and he responded in Spanish: “Why, what, why did I do it? I love, I love you, I'll see you soon.”

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Preliminary injunction, arrest warrant

At the time of the stabbing, prosecutors said there was an outstanding warrant for Castanon-Varela's arrest for a reported violation of a restraining order. The indictment states the stabbing victim requested the restraining order against Castanon-Varela and the reported violation occurred in August 2022. During that incident, the victim told police Castanon-Varela told her, “There's a bullet waiting for you.” Security cameras also captured Castanon-Varela violating the restraining order at the victim's home.

According to the complaint, the stabbing was preceded by another incident involving Castanon-Varela and the victim. On Dec. 27, 2022, the victim reported a threatening message to police. An Instagram message from Castanon-Varela to the victim, according to the complaint, read in Spanish, “I'm saving your (New Year's) gift for you and your boyfriend,” with a picture of a gun and loaded magazine. The next day, the victim received an email from Castanon-Varela that said, “I told you clearly that if you weren't with me, you wouldn't be with anyone.”

Court records show the restraining order is “to be in effect” until 2032. It specifically ordered that Castanon-Varela not threaten the victim or come near her home. The court ordered his removal from the home. He was also ordered not to possess a firearm and to surrender any weapons he owned to the sheriff's office.