Connect with us

Hawaii

Schoolmate arrested in Hawaii girl’s 1977 murder released from Utah jail as prosecution stalls

Published

on

Schoolmate arrested in Hawaii girl’s 1977 murder released from Utah jail as prosecution stalls


New DNA technology allows investigator better chance at solving decades old cold cases

Advertisement



New DNA technology allows investigator better chance at solving decades old cold cases

Advertisement

02:47

A 66-year-old suspect in the 1977 killing of a Hawaii teenager was released from a Utah jail on Thursday after prosecutors in Honolulu said they weren’t ready to proceed with a murder charge against him.

Gideon Castro was arrested in January at a Utah nursing home on a fugitive warrant for suspicion of second-degree murder in the death of 16-year-old Dawn Momohara. He had waived the right to challenge his extradition during a hearing in Salt Lake City last month. Castro, who is ill, appeared by video from a hospital bed.

While Castro was still awaiting extradition, Honolulu prosecutors told their counterparts in Utah this week that they were not proceeding against him because of “recent complications involving a material witness in this case and the state of the evidence.”

“Please understand we view this as only a temporary setback, and we remain fully committed to continuing our efforts to prosecute this matter in the near future,” Kelsi Guerra, a deputy prosecuting attorney in Honolulu, wrote in a Monday letter to Deputy Salt Lake County District Attorney Clifford Ross.

Advertisement

hawaii-15559172881426519613.jpg

Dawn Momohara, left, and a sketch of a person of interest in her murder released by police.

Hawaii Police Department via HawaiiNewsNow


Utah District Court Judge John Nielsen ordered Castro’s release late Wednesday afternoon. He was released Thursday, said Chris Bronson, spokesperson for the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

On March 21, 1977, shortly after 7:30 a.m., Honolulu police found the body of Momohara on the second floor of a building at McKinley High School. Momohara was partially clothed and lying on her back with an orange cloth tied around her neck, said Lt. Deena Thoemmes, of Honolulu Police. A subsequent autopsy ruled Momohara was strangled to death, and the medical examiner said there were signs of sexual assault.

Castro graduated from the Honolulu school in 1976.

Advertisement

An attorney for Castro had said during a hearing last month in Salt Lake City that he intended to fight the charges upon his return to Hawaii, where he is still a resident, according to jail records. It is unclear how long Castro had been in Utah when he was arrested at the nursing home in Millcreek, just south of Salt Lake City.

A McKinley High School graduate who was the school’s band teacher at the time of Momohara’s death said he was disappointed to learn of Castro’s release.

“I guess they’ve got to make sure they have a rock-solid case,” Grant Okamura said.

“In a sense I’m disappointed that they couldn’t at least go to trial but I can understand their nervousness that they don’t want to just haphazardly go into something and have it thrown out.”

Authorities in Hawaii said Thursday that they were continuing with their investigation into Momohara’s killing. No further information was being released at this time, Honolulu police spokesperson Michelle Yu said.

Advertisement

Following Momohara’s death, police released sketches of a person of interest and a possible vehicle described by witnesses as a 1974 or 1975 Pontiac LeMans. But they were unable to identify a suspect, and the case grew cold.

Several days after Momohara was killed, detectives interviewed Castro. He said he met Momohara at a school dance that year and last saw her at a carnival on campus in February 1977. Police interviewed his brother, who also met Momohara at the dance

In November 2023, Honolulu police went to Chicago, where the brother was living. They “surreptitiously” obtained DNA from one of the brother’s adult children, police said.

Lab findings excluded the brother as a suspect, but a DNA sample from Castro’s adult son, and later from Castro himself, proved he was responsible, police said.

Castro was arrested last month at the nursing home where he had been living in Millcreek, just south of Salt Lake City, on a fugitive warrant for suspicion of second-degree murder. Jail records indicate he is still a resident of Hawaii, and it is unclear how long he had been living in Utah.

Advertisement



Source link

Hawaii

Hawaii County Surf Forecast for March 04, 2026 | Big Island Now

Published

on

Hawaii County Surf Forecast for March 04, 2026 | Big Island Now


Forecast for Big Island Windward and Southeast


Shores Tonight Wednesday
Surf Surf
PM AM AM PM
North Facing 2-4 2-4 2-4 2-4
East Facing 3-5 4-6 4-6 5-7
South Facing 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3
TONIGHT
Weather Mostly cloudy. Numerous showers.
Low Temperature In the upper 60s.
Winds East winds 5 to 10 mph.
Tides
Hilo Bay High 1.9 feet 03:26 PM HST.
Low -0.1 feet 09:20 PM HST.
High 2.4 feet 03:40 AM HST.
WEDNESDAY
Weather Partly sunny. Numerous showers.
High Temperature In the upper 70s.
Winds East winds 10 to 15 mph.
Tides
Hilo Bay Low -0.1 feet 10:00 AM HST.
High 2.0 feet 04:04 PM HST.
Sunrise 6:37 AM HST.
Sunset 6:27 PM HST.

Forecast for Big Island Leeward


Shores Tonight Wednesday
Surf Surf
PM AM AM PM
West Facing 2-4 2-4 2-4 1-3
South Facing 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3
TONIGHT
Weather Mostly sunny until 6 PM, then mostly
cloudy. Hazy.
Low Temperature In the upper 60s.
Winds West winds around 5 mph early in the
afternoon, becoming light and variable.
Tides
Kona High 1.5 feet 04:04 PM HST.
Low -0.1 feet 09:57 PM HST.
High 1.9 feet 04:18 AM HST.
Kawaihae High 1.4 feet 04:36 PM HST.
Low -0.1 feet 10:20 PM HST.
High 1.9 feet 04:38 AM HST.
WEDNESDAY
Weather Partly sunny. Hazy.
High Temperature In the mid 80s.
Winds Light and variable winds, becoming west
around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tides
Kona Low -0.1 feet 10:37 AM HST.
High 1.6 feet 04:42 PM HST.
Kawaihae Low -0.2 feet 11:01 AM HST.
High 1.6 feet 05:13 PM HST.
Sunrise 6:41 AM HST.
Sunset 6:31 PM HST.

The current moderate northwest swell will continue a gradual decline through Thursday. A small west-northwest swell will arrive on Friday and hold through the weekend, followed by a small north-northwest swell early next week. Choppy east shore surf will build to near seasonal average by Wednesday as trade winds strengthen over and east of the islands. Little change is expected along east facing shores through the weekend, followed by a possible decline early next week if winds veer southerly. Surf along south facing shores will remain small to tiny through the weekend, and some islands may an increase in choppy surf if southerly winds develop early next week.

Advertisement

NORTH EAST

am        pm  

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD

Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.

Conditions: Semi choppy with ESE winds 5-10mph in the morning increasing to 10-15mph in the afternoon.

NORTH WEST

am        pm  

Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.

Advertisement
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD

Conditions: Clean in the early morning with ESE winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions move in during the morning hours with the winds shifting W 5-10mph.

WEST

am        pm  

Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.

Conditions: Semi glassy in the morning with N winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting WNW 5-10mph.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD

SOUTH EAST

Advertisement

am        pm  

Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.

Conditions: Light sideshore texture in the morning with NE winds 10-15mph. This becomes Sideshore texture/chop for the afternoon.

Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov and SwellInfo.com



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Hawaii

Hawaii delegation continues to blast U.S. attack on Iran | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Published

on

Hawaii delegation continues to blast U.S. attack on Iran | Honolulu Star-Advertiser




Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Hawaii

Blood moon to dazzle Hawaii skies tonight

Published

on

Blood moon to dazzle Hawaii skies tonight

























Blood moon to dazzle Hawaii skies tonight | Local | kitv.com

We recognize you are attempting to access this website from a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) including the EU which
enforces the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and therefore access cannot be granted at this time.

For any issues, contact news@kitv.com or call 808-535-0400 .

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending