A tourist in Florida is facing charges of murder, battery and more after he allegedly killed a bystander with a fire extinguisher while he was being evicted from a hotel.
On Friday, Jan. 10, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office shared during a press conference that they arrested a man on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at a Quality Inn in Kissimmee — about 20 miles south of Orlando — after they received a 911 call about a person being stomped on, kicked and beaten with a fire extinguisher.
Sheriff Marcos Lopez said during the press conference that his office received the 911 call on Wednesday around 4.p.m. local time, and when deputies arrived at the hotel, they found 25-year-old Piero Estefano But-Castillo “still beating” Robert Krusinowski, 55.
Court documents obtained by PEOPLE allege that But-Castillo’s hands were “covered in blood,” and he hooked his legs inside a nearby railing as deputies tried to intervene and pull him away.
Lopez said during the news conference that But-Castillo, a Chilean national, was angry after staff asked him to leave the hotel and Krusinowski, a bystander, was trying to help calm him down. Court documents state the 25-year-old had a check-out date of Jan. 8, and he was being asked not to continue his stay.
“In an effort to calm him down, our victim — Mr. Robert Krusinowski, a 55-year-old man — was unarmed, just trying to de-escalate the situation,” Lopez said. “However, our suspect — it angered him, and he just beat him. Beat him to death. It was a brutal beating with a fire extinguisher.”
Court documents state that But-Castillo was accused of smashing hotel property, including the window of an occupied room. While he was allegedly attacking Krusinowski, the affidavit for his arrest states, But-Castillo stopped to climb through the broken window of the occupied room and was forced back out, and then continued to attack the 55-year-old.
Much of the incident was captured by another hotel resident on a cell phone, according to the documents.
The affidavit adds that Krusinowski was a longtime resident of the hotel who often helped staff with maintenance on the property. He suffered severe head trauma, and fire department personnel administered first aid, but he later died from his injuries at the scene.
“These savage attacks aren’t going to go unpunished here,” Lopez said during the press conference.
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Lopez said But-Castillo first entered the U.S. from Chile as a student in 2019, before leaving and returning on Jan. 1, 2024, on a 90-day tourist visa. The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the incident, he added, noting that the department is working with the Chilean government to find more information about But-Castillo.
But-Castillo is currently in custody at the Osceola County Jail with no bond and an immigration hold. He faces charges of first-degree murder, resisting an officer with violence, battery on specified personnel and criminal mischief of $1,000, according to booking records.
Lopez concluded the press conference by recommending that the public call 911 instead of trying to intervene when a person is acting erratically.
“Let us take this into our hands and affect the arrest. It’s better that you don’t get involved,” the sheriff added. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with and people get angry, lose their tempers — you don’t know if they’re psychotic or on drugs. In this case, it cost the victim his life.”
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