RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – Michelle Afshar carries the picture of her best friend Alessandra Barlas whenever she publicly speaks of Alessandra’s murder.
Alessandra was stabbed to death back in 2015 by her then boyfriend Hugo Castro in San Jose.
Michelle says there were red flags and warning signs friends and family noticed before the tragedy.
“We had some feelings that something wasn’t right,” says Michelle. “And so, when you are dating you would tell your best friend. I don’t like this, this person is saying this to me. We all tried to do our due diligence.”
Despite the due diligence, what Michelle and Alessandra’s family didn’t know, Castro had already served time for attempted murder here in Washoe County.
His then girlfriend Katrina Esparza says they had broken up. But he returned under the pretense his father had had a heart attack.
She says when they hugged back in 2009…
“And I felt a pain. And he stabbed me multiple times,” says Katrina.
Esparza says she found out about Alessandra’s murder on Facebook and got involved in the case against Castro who is now serving a life sentence.
But for these two women more had to be done.
That’s why they testified in front of the Assembly Judiciary Committee in favor of AB 162; also known as Alessandra’s Law.
“This is about giving people access to information that can save their lives,” says Assemblyman Toby Yurek, a Republican from Assembly District 19 who sponsors the bill. “Domestic violence is not a moment in time. It is a pattern.”
The bill would require the Department of Public Safety to set up a statewide data base and internet website, listing the name of individuals here in Nevada who have been convicted twice of domestic violence.
The list would include any alias, date of birth, a physical description and photograph.
That information would remain on the website for seven years. Even with the various ways people can find out more about someone else, Yurek says this is just one more tool to gain information.
But some testified against the bill saying the information would prevent those convicted of domestic violence from getting a job or renting an apartment.
While the bill would not have changed the set of facts in Alessandra’s murder, Katrina says there’s a chance AB 162 could prevent another senseless death.
“There would be a lot of lives saved,” says Katrina.
If AB 162 becomes law, Nevada will be the second state to pass Alessandra’s Law.
The first state was Texas, where her family and Michelle testified on her behalf.
Copyright 2025 KOLO. All rights reserved.
