Cops: Man killed girlfriend and her daughter with hammer

Updated January 29, 2014 3:10 PM EST

NEW YORK – A 44-year-old New York man is accused of beating his girlfriend and her 25-year-old daughter to death with a hammer inside their New York City home Tuesday night, reports CBS New York.

Carlos Amarillo is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, police said.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said Amarillo called 911 just after midnight Wednesday and said he killed the two women because he believed they were witches.

"Two females are dead, they were assassinated, hurry they are dead," Amarillo allegedly told police, according to Brown. "I killed them because they are witches, I want the police to kill me. I killed them with a hammer."

Once inside, police found the bodies of 56-year-old Estrella Castaneda and her daughter, 25-year-old Lina Castaneda, both with severe head trauma, police said.

Authorities said Amarillo, Estrella Castaneda’s boyfriend, beat both the mother and daughter in the head with a hammer, according to CBS New York. The hammer was reportedly recovered at the scene.

Neighbor Camillo Alvarez told the station he heard what he referred to as “banging” around midnight.

“Sounded like something hitting a blunt object,” Alvarez said. “I’ve been awake all night thinking about it, the time it happened, how long it was happening, how close it was. It’s not easy.”

Lina Castaneda’s 7-year-old daughter was taken from the home by police. She was not hurt, but doctors evaluated her as a precaution, according to the station.

“The little girl would come and play with the dogs,” neighbor Deborah Pawleuk said. “They were lovely people.”

The child is now with her father. It’s unclear if she witnessed what happened.

“You worry about gun control, but this is a hammer,” Pawleuk said. “What possesses someone to pick up a hammer and kill two people?”