CEO Murder Charge Brings New Attention to Strong Castle

Leesburg-based government IT contractor Strong Castle is receiving fresh attention after CEO Braulio Castillo was arrested last week on a murder charge. Castillo is accused of killing his estranged wife, whose body was found March 20 in her Ashburn home.

Formerly Signet Computers, Strong Castle received close scrutiny during a 2013 Congressional review regarding a veterans-first bidding program for some federal contracts.

Federal Times blogger Andy Medici notes that Catillo was reportedly awarded $500 million in contracts, in part due to his participation in the program. He reportedly injured his foot in 1984 as a student at the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School.

The Washington Business Journal notes Castillo denied fraud allegations in both his congressional testimony and in an interview with the WBJ. 

Police found the body of Michelle Castillo hanging in her basement March 20, but quickly ruled out suicide, according to media interviews with Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman.

"The evidence shows she was beaten and suffocated before she was found hanging in the downstairs bathroom," Chapman told NBC Washington. "That hanging was not the cause of her death."