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FARMINGTON — A Layton man charged with stabbing his estranged wife to death in front of their son is now accused of violating a court order by writing a letter from jail to a victim in the case, presumably one of his children.
Joe Castillo, 47, was charged in June 2014 with murder in the death of his wife, Kaylynn Spackman, 36. Police say Castillo violated a protective order issued months before when he came to the woman's house, confronting her in the garage and attacking her with a knife.
The couple's 17-year-old son attempted to stop his father, court documents state, until a neighbor came to see what was happening and Castillo fled. He was arrested after a two-day search.
Now Castillo is facing a new charge of violating a pretrial protective order, a third-degree felony. He pleaded not guilty to the charge on Tuesday.
According to charges filed Oct. 20 in 2nd District Court, Castillo mailed a letter on May 6 from the Davis County Jail, where he is in custody in lieu of $500,000 bail, to one of the victims in the case. Court documents do not specify who the letter was sent to.
Following his 2014 arrest, a protective order was put in place prohibiting Castillo from contacting his and Spackman's three children, prosecutors confirmed.
Castillo, who is awaiting a jury trial scheduled to begin Feb. 27, was found competent to face the murder charge earlier this year. A status hearing in both cases is scheduled for Dec. 13.
In the murder case, Castillo also faces charges of domestic violence in the presence of a child and child abuse, third-degree felonies, and violation of a protection order, a class A misdemeanor.
Help for people in abusive relationships can be found by contacting the YWCA's Women in Jeopardy program at 801-537-8600, or the Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-897-LINK (5465).
