
Man Arrested in Utah Nursing Home for 1977 Murder
On March 21, 1977, a 16-year-old girl was found dead in a high school in Honolulu. A search for the suspect came up cold, but nearly 50 years later, a man was arrested in Utah for the murder of Dawn Momohara.
Our news partners with ABC4 Utah reported on the breakthrough in this cold case through an article written by Nicole Napuunoa and Trevor Myers.
So where was this murder suspect after all these years? Gideon Castro, 66, was taken into custody at a nursing home in Utah and is now awaiting extradition to Hawaii.
Authorities were able to identify Castro thanks to advancements in forensic technology, which is has led to other cold cases being reopened across the country.
AS for the crime in question, police found the body of Momohara in 1977 at high school in Honolulu partially clothed with an orange cloth wrapped tightly around her neck.
The article said, “An autopsy later showed that she had been murdered by strangulation and sexually assaulted. Fluids were recovered from her body at that time, and Momohara’s personal items were recovered at the scene, along with other evidence.”
A witness claimed to have seen a male on the grounds of the high school the night before Momohara’s body was discovered.
The article said, “The witnesses described the man they saw as Asian, late teens to early 20s, with shoulder-length, wavy hair that was combed back. Witnesses also described the car as a two-door, two-toned car. The description was circulated but no clues came of it, and the case went cold after investigators were unable to identify a suspect at the time.”
Castro was interviewed a week after Momohara’s body was discovered, but the police couldn’t establish a solid connection between the man and the victim.
Castro claimed to have met Momohara at a school dance in 1976 and said he graduated from the same high school, but no other relevant info was found.
Nearly 50 years later, Castro now awaits trial for the reported murder of Dawn Momohara. Authorities expressed gratitude to the many agencies involved in the case, including those in Hawaii and Utah.
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