HI HI - Dawn Momohara, 16, Assaulted & Strangled, Honolulu, 21 Mar 1977

[BrownBear]

Dawn Momohara

On March 21, 1977, 16-year-old student Dawn Momohara was discovered on the second floor of a building at McKinley High School. Reports indicate that she had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Attached are sketches of a person of interest and a possible suspect vehicle, described by witnesses as a 1974 or 1975 Pontiac Lemans with louvered rear windows, maroon bottom, and white vinyl top.

Dawn Momohara - Honolulu Police Department

 

[BrownBear]

Dawn Momohara - Newspapers.com

Dawn Momohara 2 - Newspapers.com

 

[dotr]

Arrest!
Jan. 21, 2025

Suspect arrested in 1977 cold case murder of McKinley High student

Police found the DNA of an unknown male on Dawn Momohara’s clothes, but were unable to identify a suspect until now.

www.hawaiinewsnow.com

''Police found the DNA of an unknown male on Momohara’s clothes, but were unable to identify a suspect.
That is, until advancements in DNA testing helped investigators track him down.
Gideon Castro, 66, is now in custody in connection with Momohara’s murder.
Police said new information obtained in September 2023 led police to identify Castro and his brother as potential suspects.''

''Officers with the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake arrested Castro for second-degree murder at his nursing home Tuesday morning.
The 1976 McKinley High graduate will now be extradited to Honolulu.''

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Dawn Momohara was 16 when she was strangled in 1977. Gideon Castro, a former schoolmate, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with murdering her.
The last time Dawn Momohara’s mother heard from her daughter, she told her she was going to meet friends at a shopping center in Honolulu

Nearly 50 Years After Honolulu Teen’s Killing, Police Arrest an Ex-Schoolmate

DNA evidence helped lead long-stymied detectives to a suspect in the murder of Dawn Momohara, 16, who was strangled and found dead at her high school.

www.nytimes.com

 

[dotr]

rbbm

'People don't forget;' Utah Cold Case Coalition weights in on Hawaii cold case DNA match

Soon, a man living in a Utah nursing home will be sent to Hawaii where he's facing a second degree murder charge. The Utah Cold Case Coalition explains the impact of solving cold cases, and how DNA has become an important tool for law enforcement.

ksltv.com

“There’s not enough money to do DNA testing on anywhere near all of the cold cases, but when it can be done, it’s very reliable,” said Utah Cold Case Coalition Co-founder Karra Porter.
She said results in cases like Momohara’s give families hope.''

''She said DNA advanced technology can also deter people from committing crimes.
“I believe it leads to a deterrence in the commission of these kinds of crimes,” Porter said. “I think people now understand, ‘I can’t get away with things that I maybe thought I could get away with in the past.'”

''Porter said she’s studied what happens to suspects carrying secrets like an unconfessed crime, for years.
“A lot of people, this eats away at them, sometimes physically they just deteriorate,” she said.''

 

[Seattle1]

Suspect arrested in 1977 cold case murder of McKinley High student

Police found the DNA of an unknown male on Dawn Momohara’s clothes, but were unable to identify a suspect until now.

www.hawaiinewsnow.com

Jan 21, 2025

 

[Seattle1]

DNA testing leads to new murder charge in nearly 50-year-old cold case of slain Honolulu teen

A suspect was arrested in his nursing home last week for the unsolved murder of a 16-year-old student nearly half a century ago.

www.nbcnews.com

Jan 26, 2025

 

[Seattle1]

HPD press conference for the 1977 homicide of a student at McKinley High School

A Honolulu Police Department press conference was held on Tuesday afternoon revealing more details and updates about the 1977 cold case where Dawn Momohara was found sexually assaulted and strangled

www.kitv.com

Jan 21, 2025

 

[Seattle1]

I've seen a lot of requests for the suspects school photo and/or from McKinley HS Class of 1976. However, from the 40th Class Reunion -- it does not seem that GC appeared in the 1976 Yearbook with his class but he does appear on the schools Class of 1976 alumni list.

I'm curious if CG truly joined the Army Reserves after graduation as claimed when he was questioned about Dawn's murder in real time. I saw another MHS class reunion slideshow for a different graduating class with a picture of "ROTC" and made me wonder if he was part of ROTC during HS. I don't know anything about enlistment but I'd never heard of a teen enlisting as a Reservist before. MOO

Seniors 1 - The Class of 1976

The Black and Gold 1976 The Seniors - Class of 1976 Three Years Ago... Registration Produces Confusion, Final Year Schedul...

mckinleytigers1977.blogspot.com

Seniors 3 - The Class of 1976

The Black and Gold 1976 The Seniors - Class of 1976 Superstars Competition Draws Class Rivalry Mighty Senior Class Paces Bicentennia...

mckinleytigers1977.blogspot.com

https://mckinleyhighschool.org/honolulu-hi/alumni-list-c.html

 

[Seattle1]

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/26/us/dawn-momohara-murder-arrest-hawaii/index.html#:~:text=Dawn%20Momohara%2C%2016%2C%20was%20partially,body%20on%20March%2021%2C%201977.

Jan 26, 2025

Castro and his brother were among the schoolmates detectives interviewed during the initial stages of the investigation, Thoemmes said.

Castro at the time told police he had met Dawn at a school dance in 1976, the year he graduated. He said he last saw her at a carnival the following year, when they talked for about 15 minutes and he told her he was in the US Army Reserve, according to Thoemmes.

“Despite following up on numerous leads and interviewing multiple individuals, investigators were unable to identify a suspect at that time,” she said.

 

[Seattle1]

48 years after teen girl's murder in Hawaii, her former schoolmate is arrested in Utah

Honolulu Police say modern forensic tests allowed them to identify and arrest a suspect in Dawn Momohara's 1977 murder.

www.cbsnews.com

1/22/25

 

[Seattle1]

Man, 66, arrested in Utah for alleged 1977 murder of McKinley student | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

A 66-year-old man was arrested in a Utah nursing home this morning in connection with the March 21, 1977 fatal strangling of a 16-year-old McKinley High School student whose body was found in a campus building.

www.staradvertiser.com

1/21/25

On March 28, 1977, detectives interviewed Castro, who was later identified as a suspect.

He told police he knew Momohara since late 1976, when he met her at a school dance. Gideon graduated from McKinley in 1976 and told police that Momohara was friends with him and his brother William Castro.

He said Momohara used to call him when he was still in high school and that he last saw her at the McKinley carnival in February of 1977 where they talked for about 15 minutes.

He told her he was in the U.S. Army Reserve and had come home to Honolulu. William Castro was also interviewed by police and told detectives that he met Momohara at a school dance with his brother Gideon.

 

[dotr]

After 47 years, Dawn Momohar's Killer is Identified

Honolulu Police Department Teams with Othram to Identify the Suspect in 1977 Murder of High School Student Dawn Momohar

dnasolves.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Gideon Castro had told authorities that he had met Momohara at a school dance in 1976 and had last spoken with her at a school carnival in February 1977. He said they talked for 15 minutes, and he told her that he was in the US army reserve.

His brother, William Castro, told police at the time that he had met Momohara through his brother

DNA analysis leads to murder charge in 1977 killing of Hawaii teenager

Utah nursing home resident Gideon Castro, 66, arrested and charged over death of Dawn Momohara, 16, in Honolulu

www.theguardian.com

 

[Seattle1]

Chilling details emerge after schoolmate arrested in Hawaii girl's 1977 murder

Before Dawn Momohara was killed, she got a call from an unknown male and told her mother she was going to a shopping center. That was the last time her mom saw her, police said.

www.cbsnews.com

Jan 31, 2025

The suspect, former McKinley student Gideon Castro, was scheduled to make an initial court appearance Friday before a judge in Salt Lake County District Court. He remained in custody Thursday with the bond for his release set at $250,000, according to Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office records.

Castro's attorney, Marlene Mohn, did not respond to email and phone messages seeking comment.

Momohara had been sexually assaulted and strangled, police said.

 

[Seattle1]

THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT - SALT LAKE COUNTY DI

STATE OF UTAH
vs.
GIDEON BELAMIDI CASTRO

DOB: 7/27/1958

Case # 251900920
9:55 AM - 1/31/2025
VIRTUAL HEARING

Judge/Commissioner:
JUDGE VIDEO
INITIAL APPEARANCE/MED RESET 1

- FUGITIVE FROM JUSTICE-WARRANT OF ARREST
2025-01-22

OTN: 68172436
Citation: #
LEA: J18 #SO25-1756
Prosecuting Agency: C18 #
Sheriff: #454441

Court Calendar Search Results - Utah Courts

 

[Seattle1]

Name GIDEON BELAMIDI CASTRO ​ ​ ​ ​

Sex: M Age: 66 Height: 503 Weight: 170 Race: ASIAN Hair Color: BLACK Eye Color: BLU

GIDEON BELAMIDI CASTRO

Inmate Lookup Tool

From the SLC Sheriff inmate database, the suspect claims to be a native of Hawaii, and from the stats, physically, he's a small man. I'm sorry there were no witnesses nearby who could have likely overpowered him.

 

[Seattle1]

1/31/25

Grim memories resurface after DNA advances lead to arrest of Utah man in teen's 1977 murder

Former Hawaii lawmaker Suzanne Chun Oakland remembers arriving at school one morning in 1977 to an eerie buzz.

www.fox13now.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Momohara, discovered with an orange cloth wound tightly around her neck, was found on the second floor of the English building at McKinley High School in Honolulu on March 21, 1977. She was a sophomore at the school at the time

DNA testing leads to new murder charge in nearly 50-year-old cold case of slain Honolulu teen - IAPE - International Association for Property and Evidence

DNA testing leads to new murder charge in nearly 50-year-old cold case of slain Honolulu teen January 26, 2025 Nearly five decades after her partially clothed body was discovered on the second floor of her Honolulu high school, modern DNA testing has led to an arrest that could solve the cold...

welcome.iape.org

 

[Seattle1]

10:00 AM In Person Hearing
2/5/2025
THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT - SALT LAKE COUNTY DI
District Court


STATE OF UTAH
vs.
GIDEON BELAMIDI CASTRO
JUDGE VIDEO
VIRTUAL HEARING
INITIAL APPEARANCE/JAIL/RESET

Case # 251900920
{Not Applicable}