Press Releases
08/17/2023
Casandra Nazario Sentenced For 2020 Murder of Rachel Lerato Sebetlela
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Waterbury, CT) – Waterbury State’s Attorney Maureen T. Platt announced today that on August 14, 2023, the Honorable Joseph B. Schwartz sentenced Casandra Nazario to 50 years in prison, execution suspended after 25 years served, for the July 2020 murder of Rachel Lerato Sebetlela.
Nazario, age 26, of Waterbury, pleaded guilty in April to the crimes of Murder in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-54a, Burglary in the First Degree in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-101(a)(3) and Tampering with Evidence in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-155(a)(1).
Nazario agreed to cooperate with the state and testify against Miles Johnson, a codefendant in the case. A Superior Court judge on August 2, 2023 sentenced Johnson to 55 years in prison.
According to evidence introduced during Johnson’s trial, the victim was stabbed multiple times in the torso in her Waterbury home on July 10, 2020. A hiker found the victim’s headless body wrapped in blankets and garbage bags at Black Rock State Park in Watertown on September 12, 2020. The victim’s wrists, legs and feet were bound with duct tape. During the trial, Nazario testified that she and Johnson spent the day preparing for the murder. This included purchasing black clothing and a knife.
The case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Don E. Therkildsen, Jr. and Deputy Assistant State’s Attorney Alexandra Arroyo.