Michelle Warner, Mark Castellano: ‘Shadow Of Doubt’ Probes Texas Missing Mom Found Dead In Shallow Grave On ID
Michelle Warner was a Houston, Texas, mother who vanished four years ago. She was later found dead in a shallow grave. Authorities say she was killed by the father of her child. Her case will be explored in a new episode of Shadow Of Doubt on Investigation Discovery. The estranged boyfriend, 37-year-old Mark Castellano, who was interviewed by Dr. Phil, ultimately confessed and was sentenced to 27 years in a Texas prison. Michelle Warner’s story was told in an episode of 48 Hours, entitled “Gone.”
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The 31-year-old single mother vanished from her apartment in 2012. Mark Castellano told the police that the woman left on foot after a violent fight erupted inside. His explanation was that an argument began, and Michelle Warner hit him before she stormed into another room. After a few minutes, when he went to confront her, he realized that she was gone. Her car and her child were left behind. Right away, her family knew that something bad had happened to her because she would never walk away from her child.
After her disappearance, Mark Castellano drove their child to his parents home in Odessa, Texas, and instead of doing everything he could to help find Michelle Warner, he was eager to tell his story on an episode of Dr. Phil, spokeswoman Stacey Luchs told ABC News the following.
“Mr. Castellano sat down for an interview with Dr. Phil in Texas just before his confession to law enforcement, late last week. Dr. Phil also conducted an interview with Ms. Warner’s family for this show, which is currently scheduled to air on Thursday.”
In the meantime, it was pure agony for Michelle family as they waited for information about their missing loved one. They say Michelle was really something — the kind of woman that captivated a room when she walked in. The beautiful mother always wore her heels, even when she was carrying her small son. She loved taking pictures and had a bubbly personality that everyone around her found endearing. No one can say the same for her estranged boyfriend Mark Castellano. Michelle Warner’s family did not like him. And no one knew why she would be interested in him. To her family and friends, he was unattractive, small, and downright weird.
Michelle began dating him in 2008, but that relationship eventually ended, even though they had a child together. They reconnected again after Michelle got a job in Houston with a law firm, which was a good opportunity for her, but she didn’t have a place to stay out there. Finally, she asked Mark Castellano if she could stay with him while she worked, with the understanding that it was not a romantic relationship. He agreed and a short time later, she had disappeared.
The police felt that Mark was the last person to speak with Michelle and felt he knew more than he was telling. Castellano eventually broke down and told police that he choked Michelle Warner and packed her body up and discarded it in a field. He later directed detectives to an area outside of Midland through the use of FaceTime on an iPhone. It was there that they found Michelle Warner’s dead body in a remote field. When Texas detectives asked him why he had covered the woman’s head with a plastic bag, he told them that he was tired of seeing her face.
Michelle Warner’s death was a sad ending for a woman who had faced many difficulties in her life, but who had finally gotten it together. In Investigation Discovery’s Shadow Of Doubt episode, entitled “Single Mom Missing,” you’ll hear explicit details of the case as it’s told by law enforcement officials, family members, and friends. Tune in on Wednesday, January 27, at 10 p.m. Here is another case that aired on Shadow Of Doubt.
Mark Castellano’s Interview on Dr. Phil
[Image via YouTube]
