Marshfield Man Appears in Price County Court for Burning the Body of his Roommate

Tuesday, April 1st, 2025 -- 2:00 PM

(Karen Madden, Marshfield News-Herald) A 38-year-old Marshfield man pleaded not guilty Monday to taking the body of a woman to Price County and burning it in November.

According to Karen Madden with the Marshfield News-Herald, Deyvin Castro-Gutierrez is charged in Price County with mutilating the corpse of Blanca Jesenia Hernandez-Portocarrero, 28, of Marshfield.

Castro-Gutierrez waved his right to a preliminary hearing Monday in front of Price County Circuit Judge Mark Fuhr. A preliminary hearing is one in which the prosecutor must show there is enough evidence to continue the case.

Fuhr did order the case to move forward. Castro-Gutierrez pleaded not guilty Jan. 9 in Wood County Circuit to first-degree intentional homicide for the death of Hernandez Portocarrero.

According to the criminal complaint, on the evening of Nov. 3, a caller reported a fire in the ditch at the intersection of Wisconsin 13 and Withy Road in the Price County town of Hackett.

Officers who responded to the call found human remains on fire. On Nov 7, four days after the body was found, Castro-Gutierrez reported his roommate, Hernandez-Portocarrero, was missing.

Authorities were able to identify the remains found in Price County as Hernandez-Portocarrero through her fingerprints, according to documents. Castro-Guiterrez said Hernandez-Portocarrero had been missing since Nov. 3.

On Nov. 11, Police interviewed Castro-Gutierrez. He said he struck Hernandez-Portocarrero in the neck and then held his arm on her neck until she stopped breathing, according to court documents.

He said it happened in the bedroom of the apartment he shared with Hernandez-Portocarrero. Castro-Gutierrez told police he killed Hernandez-Portocarrero in self-defense, former Wood County District Attorney Craig Lambert said at Castro-Gutierrez's initial appearance.

Castro-Gutierrez said he wrapped Hernandez-Portocarrero's body in a blanket and used zip ties to secure it. He then put her in his car, which was in the parking lot of the apartment complex.

Casto-Gutierrez said he drove about an hour, poured gasoline on the body and lit it on fire, according to court records. Castro-Gutierrez's next appearance in Price County is scheduled for June 5.

His next appearance in Wood County is scheduled for May 27. He is currently in the Wood County Jail pending a $10 million cash bail.

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