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"She had called me to come see her new place," Jonathan said. "She was so excited for me to see it, but I couldn't. I had to work. I can't stop thinking about that. I should have just stayed out (of work) that day. I should have seen her."
Salem police detectives have said that her boyfriend and father of her two young children, Pablo Vicente, 33, strangled her to death in her Pope Street apartment. He left her body in the Salem home for three days with their children — ages 3 and 9-months-old — until it began to stink before he tossed it in a dumpster, the Essex County District Attorney's Office said. He confessed to a police officer about what he'd allegedly done, and he was arrested and charged, the prosecutor's office said.
Vicente has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder on Aug. 10, authorities said. A spokesman for the Essex County District Attorney's Office said that the prosecutor would use its "full resources" to achieve justice in this case.
Detectives haven't found Nayeli's body. They've been searching at a trash sorting facility, where they believe her body may have ended up, and the woods near her home.
Jonathan Castillo, one of Nayeli's 10 siblings, created a GoFundMe for Nayeli that has largely languished. The fundraiser has raised about $2,500 in donations for their $25,000 goal, while similar campaigns in other cases have raised tens of thousands of dollars.
"I just feel like she's being forgotten — like no one cares but us," Jonathan said. "... The other day, I thought about hanging a big sheet over a bridge that just says, 'Say her name.' Seeing her being forgotten is heartbreaking. ... She loved those kids. She would have done anything for them. We owe it to her to make sure they are taken care of, but we can't do it on our own."
Castillo says the money will go to help the family pay for her funeral costs and the legal expenses as they fight to adopt her children, who have been with the Department of Children and Families since Castillo's arrest on Aug. 8. Whatever is left will go toward raising her son and daughter.
Nayeli's sister-in-law, Veronica Castillo, said Nayeli was a loving mother with a great sense of humor. She was excited for her upcoming 21st birthday and had big dreams for her and her children.
"She didn't deserve this," Veronica said. "She should be with her kids right now."
The family believes this could have been avoided. Police arrested Vicente in 2019 after he allegedly abused Nayeli, but he skipped out on the trial and has been a wanted man since.
Nayeli took out a protective order against him and a no-contact order that was in effect when she died, her brother said.
Police arrested Vicente in April 2023 on a similar abuse charge. But despite his history of being a flight risk and over the district attorney's wishes, a Lowell judge gave him bail. He was due back in court the day he admitted to a police officer that he had killed her, the prosecutor said.
Nayeli's family believes she would still be alive if he had been kept behind bars until his trial.
"She fell through the cracks," Jonathan Castillo said. "It's why (Nayeli's) not here as much as (Pablo)."
Click here for more information on the GoFundMe for Nayeli Nieves. The family asks anyone who posts about Nayeli's story on social media to use the hashtags #JusticeForNayeliNieves #SayHerName #SheMatters to help spread the word.
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