Piero Estefano But-Castillo, 25, faces charges of premeditated murder, resisting an officer with violence, battery, and criminal mischief, according to WOFL-TV.
Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez said the incident took place at about 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8.
Lopez said that But-Castillo had been evicted from the motel, triggering an angry outburst.
“In an effort to calm him down, our victim — Mr. Robert Krusinowski, a 55-year-old man — was unarmed, just trying to de-escalate the situation,” he said.
Krusinowski was a motel resident who often helped the staff with chores.
“However, our suspect it angered him, and he just beat him to death. It was a brutal beating with a fire extinguisher,” Lopez said, explaining the allegations against But-Castillo.
“These savage attacks aren’t going to go unpunished here,” the sheriff said.
But-Castillo had entered the United States in 2019 on a student visa. Lopez said at some time after that he left the country, only to return on Jan 1. on a 90-day tourist visa.
Lopez noted that But-Castillo’s return came one week before the attack on Krusinowski.
Lopez indicated the suspect had been on a spree of destructive activity when the confrontation took place, according to WKMG-TV.
“He’s a Chilean national who was staying at the hotel for a time and was asked to leave by hotel staff. He lost his temper and began breaking items,” Lopez said.
Police said that video evidence showed Krusinowski’s head being stomped by the suspect.
Surveillance footage showed “what appears to be Castillo breaking room windows on the third floor, slamming Krusinowski to the ground, repeatedly battering him, dragging him through the breezeway, continuing to stomp on and batter him, disengaging, then re-engaging with the violent attack which led to Krusinowski’s death,” an affidavit said.
Court documents said that when police tried to pull him away from the victim, he hooked his legs inside a nearby railing to resist, according to People.
But-Castillo is being held in Osceola County Jail with no bail and an immigration hold.
Lopez warned bystanders against confronting potential criminals, according to WOFL.
“Let us take this into our hands. It’s better that you don’t get involved,” he said. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with and people get angry, lose their tempers — you don’t know if they’re psychotic or on drugs.”
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