READING, Pa. – The Berks County District Attorney’s Office announced the arrest of a Reading woman for the murder of a child over three decades ago.
57-year-old Sandra Guadalupe-Castro is charged with first and third-degree murder.
On January 8, 1993, a two-year-old male was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Reading where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators determined the child suffered multiple blunt impact injuries to the head and also had numerous bruises in various stages of healing. Forensic pathologist Dr. Neil Hoffman ruled the death a homicide.
At the time of his death, the boy resided with his father and father’s girlfriend, identified by police as Guadalupe-Castro.
Detectives from Reading Police Department interviewed numerous immediate and extended family members and others familiar with the child over the course of their investigation. Despite extensive efforts at the time, no arrests were made.
In 2025, as part of Berks County District Attorney John Adams’ Cold Case Initiative, the Reading Police Department Criminal Investigations Unit and Berks County Detectives reopened and jointly reviewed the case.
Witnesses were re-interviewed and forensic findings and medical records related to the case were re-examined.
During a consultation with investigators, Dr. Hoffman was able to establish that the fatal injuries were inflicted shortly before the child’s death. Investigators say this determination allowed them to narrow the timeline and focus on the victim’s activities on the morning of January 8, 1993.
Investigators discovered the victim was in the sole care of Guadalupe-Castro in the hours preceding his death.
Guadalupe-Castro was interviewed by police numerous times in both 1993 and 2025. She told investigators that, on previous occasions, she had struck the child on the buttocks, legs and slapped his face, but denied ever striking him in the head.
On the day in question, police say Guadalupe-Castro told them the child had fallen after using the toilet and then started shaking. Dr. Hoffman concluded that the fatal injuries suffered were not consistent with a fall and were likely inflicted with a fist or some other outside force.
Charges were filed yesterday and Guadalupe-Castro was taken into custody at her residence.
Online court records list the defendant as in the custody of Berks County Jail after being denied bail.
Guadalupe-Castro is scheduled to appear back in court for a preliminary hearing October 17.