Fort Pierce homicide victim a 'beautiful soul,' devoted to her 4-year-old son

FORT PIERCE — Dennis Herold said he and his wife spent time with their daughter, Taylor Ann Sato, and her son at the jetty in Fort Pierce late last week.

They watched the sun go down, staying together until about 10 p.m. July 22, he said.

“She just actually usually doesn't hang out with us, but that night she did, so I'm very grateful,” Herold said.

Hours later, Sato, 25, would be dead, and hours after that, her ex-boyfriend, Robert Castro, 26, would be arrested on a murder charge in connection with her fatal shooting at a residence on Timber Ridge Lane in Fort Pierce.

Read more: 'I just murdered my ex-girlfriend,' man tells 911 after shooting incident in Fort Pierce

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Police determined Castro called 911 after the incident and said he’d murdered his ex-girlfriend, Fort Pierce police Sgt. Charles Donnon has said.

Herold, 47, said Sato’s passion was her 4-year-old son, Carter, who has autism and is non-verbal and attended school three days a week in Palm City.

“She loved her family and she took care of her boy,” Herold said, describing Sato as friendly and outgoing and “very strong willed.”

“She just wanted to work and take care of her kid,” Herold said.

Sato worked as a server at Heaton’s and Cobalt at Kimpton Vero Beach Hotel & Spa in Vero Beach on the ocean, Herold said.

He said Sato was born in New Jersey, but they moved to Fort Pierce in 2000 for work. Herold and his wife, Amy Sato Herold, are in the dental field, and they came to work for his aunt and uncle, who at the time owned Quality Dental Care on U.S. 1.

Herold said Sato was close with his mother, Mary Hilton, and loved the beach. She had a 14-year-old brother, Jacob Herold.

“She was just a beautiful girl and always had a smile on her face,” Herold said.

Tayler Vaughn, 25, said Sato was her best friend for 10 years. They graduated in 2015 from Fort Pierce Westwood Academy where they met in ninth grade and had first period together.

“When the teacher was doing roll call, he said 'Taylor,' and we both said, ‘Here,’ raised our hand,” Vaughn said. “Then we looked at each other like, Oh, you're Tayler, and I'm like yeah, you're Taylor.”

Vaughn said a few days later they bonded further over a boy.

“I sat on her desk, and I was like, ‘Girl, he's nothing, don't let him stress you, you need to turn that frown upside down because you're more pretty when you smile,’” Vaughn said. “Ever since then, we've been inseparable.”

Vaughn said as they became adults they didn’t lose contact. Vaughn moved about two hours away, and they continued to communicate daily or every other day via Facetime.

Each was the other’s “first phone call.”

“If it was to just see how our day was going, if it was to vent, if it was anything,” Vaughn said. “She was, honestly, my everything.”

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Vaughn said Sato didn’t open up to many, but when she did, she was a “beautiful soul.”

“She was always happy, always looking at the best in people,” Vaughn said. “She just always tried to see the positive in things, anytime anything happened.”

Vaughn remarked about Sato’s devotion as a mother to her son. The boy now lives with his mother's parents

“She was his world and he was hers,” Vaughn said. “She did anything for that little boy, she worked so hard for him.”

Vaughn said she and Sato always told each other they loved each other before hanging up the phone.

“She was like my soulmate in female form,” Vaughn said.

Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on Twitter @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com

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This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Taylor Ann Sato, 25, remembered as 'strong willed,' devoted to son