An Illegal Murderer Convicted

NEW CITY, N.Y. -- A man who had been hired to clean a backyard deck was convicted Wednesday of raping and murdering a suburban homemaker.
The slaying drew wide attention because afterward the man allegedly used the victim's cell phone to brag about the crime to her relatives.
Douglas Herrera Castellanos, 30, faces life in prison without parole when he is sentenced in May.
Herrera, a Guatemalan immigrant whose visa expired five years ago, was the only defense witness.
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Certainly, the suburbs are not immune to violent crime. But the murder of Mary Nagle, apparently by a worker hired to power wash the back porch of her New City home, Continues-full story and pics
Herrera, a Guatemalan national living illegally in the U.S. since May 2001, faces life in prison without parole if convicted of the top charge of first-degree murder.
Mary Nagle was 42 years old and felt safe in her own home, but a handyman-illegal immigrant killed her.
EXCERPTS FROM Full Story
"On April 29, 2005, this defendant, Douglas Herrera, snuck up on Mary Nagle in her bedroom of her house, where she should have been safe and secure," Bongiorno told the jury.
"He beat her so brutally she was almost beyond recognition," he said. "She had a gash in her head from being hit with the lamp. He beat her savagely."
Bongiorno told the jury pieces of Nagle's hair were found in the room, as well as a piece of her ear lobe. Her face and hands were cut up, including a finger that nearly was amputated by the razor knife. She had a bite mark on her back.
Herrera had blood on his mouth, as did Nagle, Bongiorno said. Blood on Herrera's underwear and clothes matched Nagle's blood.
"He tore off her clothes. Mary Nagle's blood was flying all around the room," he told the jury. "Pools of blood were everywhere."
Herrera, 30, worked for Color-On, a contractor hired by the Nagle family to power-wash the family's rear deck.
On April 29, Nagle was putting on tennis clothes and planned to meet her sister for a match.
When Nagle didn't show up at the tennis club, her sister, Ann Fallon, came to the house and saw Herrera inside the laundry room.
She confronted Herrera outside the Tamarac Avenue house. He was carrying a bundle, which Clarkstown police later said contained his bloodied clothing.
Bongiorno said Herrera avoided her questions about Mary Nagle and ran off. He couldn't drive the company's truck because his boss had shown up, finished the power-washing and took the keys to the truck.