Man Who Killed 4-Year-Old Girl During Armed Robbery Pleads Guilty

HOUSTON, TX — One of the men accused of killing a 4-year-old girl during an attempted armed robbery nearly two years ago was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Ferrell Dardar pleaded guilty to the November 2016 murder of Ava Castillo on Monday.

Prosecutors said Dardar, Philip Battles, and Marco Miller were on a crime spree on Nov. 14, 2016, and that Dardar and Battles had actually committed two other murders when they targeted Diana Gomez outside of her Greenspoint apartment complex.

Dardar, Battles, and Miller approached Gomez as she unloaded groceries outside of her apartment, and demanded her purse, prosecutors said. Before Gomez could react, Dardar pulled out a gun and started shooting.

Ava Castillo was shot once in the head and died next to her mother, who’d been shot seven times. Ava’s older sister, Betsida Castillo was grazed by one of the bullets and called for help.

Police later arrested Dardar and Battles, who were both charged with capital murder, and Miller, who was also charged. Prosecutors reduced Dardar’s capital murder charge to murder as part of a plea deal, making him eligible for parole in 2048.

Prosecutors have not said if Battles was offered a plea deal in this case.

RELATED: Harris County Investigators Interviewing Suspects In 4-Year Old Girls Murder

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