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Police: Nephew Murdered Aunt, Chopped Off Her Head

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - An arrest has been made in connection to a headless body found at a Hialeah waste facility.

A veteran Judge in this case was so disturbed by the details of the crime that she was forced to take a short recess after reading the arrest report in bond court as the suspect came before her.

"The facts of this case are so gruesome," said Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy Glazer. "I need to take a minute. I really do. I'm sorry. The facts of the last case were not good. Give me a minute." The normally unflappable Glazer said she felt ill after reading the arrest report.

Hialeah police have charged Edwin Ramirez-Mejia, 27, in the murder of 36-year-old Silvia Karina Castillo of Miami Beach.

Castillo is Ramirez-Meia's aunt. Police say on Friday, August 25th, Castillo agreed to meet Ramirez-Mejia at his apartment to talk about a business they had together in Guatamala.

During questioning Ramirez-Mejia said when Castillo arrived, she fainted in the living room. He told police when he tried to revive her, he couldn't. He then told investigators that when he placed his hand on her neck, he noticed that she didn't have a pulse.

Ramirez-Mejia said he then got a large kitchen knife and severed her head. He then told them he place the head and body in seperate garbage bags and put them in a dumpster near his apartment.

When the investigators said there were some inconsistencies in his story, it changed.

Ramirez-Mejia reportedly then told the investigators that when Castillo came to his apartment they argued about her lover. He said during the fight that she grabbed a knife from the kitchen and came at him.

He told police during the struggle, he stabbed her several times. He then dragged her to the bathroom, threw her in the bathtub. Ramirez-Mejia reportedly told police he intended to slit her throat but ended up cutting off her head.

Castillo's boyfriend told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that he did not want to say anything on camera but he gave D'Oench 3 photographs of Castillo.

At the apartment building on Meridian Avenue where she had lived, neighbors said they were deeply shaken by this crime.

Neighbor Stanley Weissman said, "It is unbelievable, terrible and horrible. To murder someone is one thing but to decapitate somebody."

Another neighbor, Lenny Mautner, said, "I didn't know her personally but she was very quiet and she kept to herself. I can't believe this happened to her like this. There are uncivilized cannibals in this country doing these things."

Neighbor Ted Marriaga said, "It's terrible. I can't believe this. This guy who did this must have been on something."

Employees of the 'Waste Connections' dump found the body in a trash pile on Monday near 4250 NW 37th Court around 11 a.m.

Police said Ramirez-Mejia voluntary came to the station because he was worried about his aunt. He then reportedly confessed during questioning.

"We're just happy that we were able to finally put closure to all of this, to her friends, and to actually take a killer off the streets," said police spokesman Edward Rodriguez.

Investigators said they found the knife in Ramirez-Mejia's apartment but were unable to locate Castillo's head.

Ramirea-Mejia is facing multiple charges including second degree murder.

Judge Glazer appointed an Assistant Public Defender to represent him.

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