Crime Fighters: Who killed Yasiel Castaneda?

ByRick Williams and Heather Grubola WPVI logo
Sunday, March 8, 2020
Crime Fighters: Who killed Yasiel Castaneda?
A grieving family hopes you can identify the man they believe killed their loved one.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A grieving family hopes you can identify the man they believe killed their loved one.

Yasiel Castaneda, 28, was a pretty recent transplant to Philadelphia.

"He was only here for five years from Cuba," said Lisa Andino his stepmother.

On Sunday, April 12, a friend of Castaneda's grew concerned about him when he didn't show up for work and she couldn't get in touch with him.

"She was like, 'Well I'm gonna go and see what's going on' and she found him," said Andino.

Just before 4 p.m., that friend found Castaneda inside his apartment along the 3900 block of North Percy Street in Philadelphia's Hunting Park section. He had been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.

"We think we know who did it-- um his roommate. No one's heard from him since. He's an illegal immigrant, so they don't even know his name, so that's the problem," she said.

The City of Philadelphia is offering up to $20,000 in reward money for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.

All you have to do is call the Citizens Crime Commission at 215-546-TIPS. All calls will remain anonymous.

"He just disappeared, left everything that he had in the apartment, of course, he's just gone," said Andino.