Mother of 5 Brutally Murdered at Bible Study, But Not Before Professing 'God Has Restored My Life from the Ground Up'
A 41-year-old woman was brutally stabbed to death during a Tuesday-night family Bible study — and her own husband has been arrested for the murder. Had it happened a few years ago, that would have been even more tragic than it already — obviously — was.
But Corrina Woodhull, a former addict, had come a long way over the course of those few years, and she credited Jesus Christ for turning her life around.
“God has restored my life from the ground up. Into Freedom.. Redemption and Forgiveness. From Addiction… Depression.. Despair.. Abuse.. And Hopelessness,” she said in a testimony “less than a year ago,” according to a Facebook post from Against the Odds Ministries.
“I didn’t have a relationship with Jesus until 3 years ago when I went to treatment voluntarily.. I was in despair from Addiction,” she reportedly said.
“He redeemed and transformed me into a new creation… restored the things I never knew were possible … made depression into Hope .. made despair into redemption… turned my pain into purpose.”
Those sound like the words of a woman who was ready to meet her Maker, even if that meeting was forced upon her far sooner than it should have been and in a sadly heinous fashion.
St. Paul police officers responded to a reported stabbing at a residence at around 9:00 Tuesday evening. They found Woodhull with “severe injuries to her torso, chest and arms,” according to a criminal complaint cited by WCCO.
They also found Robert Castillo, Woodhull’s husband and a man with a long history of violence, being restrained on the floor by several people.
Woodhull and Castillo had come to the weekly family Bible study together, according to the suspect’s sister, who hosts the meeting.
According to the criminal complaint, Castillo whispered something in his wife’s ear during the study, then took out a knife and attacked her until other family members intervened to disarm and restrain him.
“Another witness at the Bible study says they believed Castillo would have stabbed others had he not been disarmed,” WCCO reported, again citing the complaint.
In addition to her five children, Woodhull will be mourned by members of a drug addiction recovery group that Against the Odds Ministries founder Phil Tyler said was “made better because of Woodhull’s enthusiastic attendance,” WCCO said.
“It takes courage to get out of our comfort zone sometimes, and I always tell people your story can change someone’s life,” Tyler told WCCO. “Corinna treated people with love and encouragement, and was a beacon of hope for people.”
Castillo is a convicted felon with a history of violent crime. He has eight felony convictions on his record already, and had an outstanding warrant when he was arrested Tuesday.
He also recently failed to a appear for a pretrial hearing regarding charges that he assaulted a prison guard while incarcerated.
Tyler said his organization was working on a fundraising project to help support Woodhull’s five children. Readers interested in assisting with that can contact the organization directly through its Facebook page.
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