SALT LAKE CITY – The 66-year-old suspect in the 1977 Hawaii teenager murder agreed to be extradited from Utah on Wednesday and to face murder charges.
Gideon Castro waived his right to challenge his extradition at a hearing before a judge in Salt Lake City. The sick Castro appeared in a video from a hospital bed.
“He’s going to fight the accusations, but I agree that he’ll be handed over to fight the accusations in Hawaii,” said defense attorney Marlene Mohn.
On March 21, 1977, at 7:30am, Honolulu police found the body of 16-year-old Dawn Momohara on the second floor of the school building. She was lying on her back and partially dressed in an orange cloth tightly wrapped around her neck, and was sexually assaulted and strangled, police said.
Police used advances in DNA technology to link Castro to the murder. They interviewed Castro and his brother in 1977. However, they were unable to conclude to killing Castro until recently obtained a DNA sample.
He was arrested last month at a nursing home living in Mill Creek, just south of Salt Lake City. Jail records show that he is still a Hawaiian resident and it is unknown how long he lived in Utah.
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