The Disturbingly Bizarre Case of Rhonda Casto

Was the young model’s death an accident, a suicide, or a murder?

Shenbaga Lakshmi
8 min readJun 17, 2021
Photo by Ron Lach from Pexels

He is either going to propose to me, or he is going to kill me.

- Rhonda’s last conversation with her family

Rhonda Casto was a beautiful young model from Portland, USA. She was a sweet, caring lady who often helped others. People loved her cheerful and entertaining attitude and often dubbed her as the light of the party.

But things didn’t go so well for the 23-year-old model.

In 2005, Rhonda’s mother, Julia, decided to rent a room. She saw an ad by a young man named Steven Nicols on Craigslist. Steve was a divorcee who needed money, and so he was renting a bedroom in his condo. They clicked immediately, and Rhonda’s mother enjoyed her time at the apartment.

She fancied his company so much that she introduced him to her daughter. Steve fell for Rhonda’s beauty and was visibly impressed with her. Rhonda also seemed interested in him, despite a 10-year age gap.

Things went well, and in just a couple of years, they bought a two-bedroom condo in Oregon and moved in together. And in 2008, the couple had a beautiful daughter named Annie.

D-Day

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Shenbaga Lakshmi

Software engineer chasing cultural stories. 4x Top Writer. Best life tip: Text your friends back! Contact: shenbawrites@gmail.com