Pablo Casellas Toro made headlines for the first time back in the summer of 2012 when his wife of 19 years, Carmen Paredes Cintrón, was found dead at their Puerto Rico residence. He became the principal suspect of the investigation, and yesterday was found guilty of murdering his wife. In an 11-1 vote, the jury made up of six men and six women found Casellas Toro guilty of murder in the first degree, illegal arms possession and destruction of evidence.
According to the prosecution, Casellas Toro faked a carjacking to report a FN Five Seven gun as stolen - the same weapon he allegedly used to kill his wife of almost 20 years. The prosecution also claimed that Casellas murdered his wife in order to avoid a divorce which would have forced him to divide his property with her. However, Casellas' defense argued that he had no motivation for the crime and that Paredes Cintrón’s death happened due to a robbery gone wrong. But who is this Pablo Casellas Toro and why is this such a high-profile case?
- 1) Pablo Casellas Toro is the son of Salvador Casellas, a U.S. district court judge.
- 2) He was born in Puerto Rico in June, 1964.
- 3) He lived a privileged life studying abroad and enjoying exclusive hobbies.
- 4) Casellas Toro finished high school in a private school in Connecticut, and studied Business Administration at Loyola University Maryland. He later got his masters degree in Insurance Management at The College of Insurance in New York, now called The School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science.
- 5) After graduating, he remained in the insurance industry and was president of Casellas Toro Insurance Brokers and the treasurer of Red Properties Inc.
- 6) Amongst his hobbies are hunting, fishing, mountain biking, sports cars and golf.
- 7) He is fond of guns and shooting, and he practiced regularly at a shooting range. He had 33 weapons registered, until police revoked his license.
- 8) He married Carmen Paredes Cintrón and were together for 19 years until her untimely death.
- 9) The couple moved to the exclusive Urbanización Tierra Alta III in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
- 10) They had two daughters who are now in their late teens.
- 11) Aracelis Cintrón, Carmen Paredes’ mother, testified during the trial that her daughter wanted a divorce and was determined to get it.
- 12) Casellas Toro would’ve had to split his assets and give half to his wife in case the divorce happened, and many claim that was what drove him to allegedly kill Paredes.
- 13) However, the insurance broker claims he found his wife’s lifeless body when he got home after visiting his dad. He revealed he saw a person run out of their residence, so he grabbed his gun, went outside and shot a few times not hitting the alleged assailant.
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