NYC Mayor Mamdani Draws Backlash Over Condolences for Inmate Charged in 2025 Special-Needs Murder
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 21
NYC Mayor Mamdani Draws Backlash Over Condolences for Inmate Charged in 2025 Special-Needs Murder
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 21
Summary
Zohran Mamdani was booed at a Staten Island pro-police event after posting condolences for Luis Alberto Lopez Castillo, who died in city custody after a Queens court appearance.
Castillo had faced murder, manslaughter and robbery charges in the 2025 killing of 26-year-old Ron Marte, an autistic Bronx man prosecutors say was ambushed in Starlight Park and robbed of his cellphone.
Critics said the mayor showed more sympathy for an accused killer than for the victim, with social media replies faulting him for omitting details of the alleged crime.
The episode revives similar criticism from August, when Mamdani mourned another jailed defendant, even as he pushes jail reforms including ending 12-hour shifts, opening a 104-bed Bellevue unit and accelerating Rikers Island's closure.