Mamdani mourns dead inmate accused of killing autistic man, ignores victim

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani offered his condolences after a 20-year-old murder defendant died in city custody.

But it was the man Mamdani didn’t mention who quickly became the story.

Luis Alberto Lopez Castillo died after suffering medical distress following a court appearance in Queens last week. Department of Correction personnel performed CPR before he was transported to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The circumstances surrounding his death remain under investigation.

Mamdani announced the death on X and offered sympathy to Castillo’s family.

“I extend my condolences to his family.”

The mayor also said the Department of Correction and its oversight partners would investigate Castillo’s death.

Castillo, however, was awaiting trial on murder, manslaughter, robbery and weapons charges connected to the 2025 killing of 26-year-old Ron Marte.

Prosecutors alleged Castillo and Axel Martinez ambushed Marte in the Bronx’s Starlight Park as Marte walked home from his job at an Amazon warehouse. Martinez allegedly shot Marte in the chest while Castillo took his cellphone. Castillo had not been convicted, and the charges remained allegations at the time of his death.

Marte was autistic.

Mamdani’s statement did not mention him.

That omission prompted a wave of criticism, including from former Eric Adams digital producer Benny Polatseck, who questioned why the mayor had publicly mourned Castillo without similarly acknowledging Marte.