Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Gideon Castro, suspected in a 1977 Hawaii murder, won't be extradited from Utah.
- Evidence and witness availability issues led to his release from Salt Lake County Jail.
- Hawaiian prosecutors plan to extradite Castro later, despite his severe health issues.
SALT LAKE CITY — The man suspected in a cold case in Hawaii will be released from a Utah jail after the prosecution found issues with its evidence, according to a motion from the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office.
On Monday, an attorney with the district attorney's office filed a motion to release 66-year-old Gideon Castro from the Salt Lake County Jail and to halt his extradition to Hawaii.
According to the motion, Hawaiian prosecutors ran into "unexpected and significant difficulties with their evidence and witness availability" in the 1977 murder case against Castro.
The Salt Lake County attorney also cited that it's expensive to keep Castro in jail due to his ongoing health issues that keep him bedridden.
"Because of serious health problems, the jail is unable to move Castro to the video room for his court appearances, so each time he has appeared for court jail personnel has (sic) had to take the necessary equipment to his room in Health Services. He appears for court from his bed," the motion stated.
On Wednesday, the 3rd District Court granted the motion for Castro to be released from jail and dismissed Castro's charges of suspicion of second-degree murder without prejudice.
However, according to the motion, the attorney said Hawaiian prosecutors will eventually arrest Castro and will request for him to be extradited when they are ready to continue the case.
On Jan. 21, Castro was arrested by the Unified Police Department at a nursing home in Millcreek after Honolulu investigators found DNA evidence connecting Castro to the murder of 16-year-old Dawn Momohara.
According to the Honolulu Police Department, Momohara was found dead on the second floor of a building on the McKinley High School campus on March 21, 1977. Police said Momohara was sexually assaulted and strangled, and an autopsy ruled her death as a homicide.
Jail records indicate Castro is a resident of Hawaii, and it is unclear how long he had been living in Utah.
On Feb. 26, Castro waived the right to challenge his extradition and agreed to challenge the case in Hawaii.
