Cold case about to be solved Classmate arrested 50 years after girl's murder
Almost half a century after the murder of a schoolgirl in Hawaii, a DNA test has identified the alleged perpetrator. The suspect is now a senior citizen.
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- The murder of a 16-year-old girl in Honolulu in 1977 has been solved using modern DNA technology.
- The alleged perpetrator, a former classmate, was arrested almost 50 years later in Utah.
- The murder case, which shook the community at the time, remained unsolved for decades until forensic advances made it possible to identify the perpetrator.
Almost 50 years ago, 16-year-old Dawn Momohara was found murdered in a Honolulu school building. The gruesome crime shook the community to its core.
Susie Chun Oakland, a former classmate, remembers how much the case unsettled the community. "People were scared. In our state, we grow up watching out for each other," she told CNN.
Alleged perpetrator is now 66
Back in March 1977, the victim was found by a teacher in the school building at McKinley High School. The girl was only partially clothed and had an orange scarf wrapped tightly around her neck She had apparently been sexually abused and strangled.
The case remained unsolved for decades until modern DNA technology brought a breakthrough. A former classmate, Gideon Castro, who is now 66 years old, has now been arrested in Utah after DNA traces from the victim's clothing matched a sample taken from his son.
Honolulu police lieutenant Deena Thoemmes announced this at a press conference on January 21. Officers dealing with so-called cold cases had already made initial progress in 2019.
According to the reports, an unknown man called Dawn Momohara the morning before she was murdered. The 16-year-old told her mother that she was meeting her friends at the shopping center. That was the last time her mother saw her alive.
Modern forensic technology solves decades-old cases
Last Thursday, after almost half a century, the alleged perpetrator was arrested, according to CNN. He will be charged with second-degree murder.
Modern forensic technology makes it possible to solve even decades-old crimes, provided that evidence has been secured. DNA contained in human cells such as blood or hair can almost certainly confirm a person's identity with comparative samples.
The editor wrote this article with the help of AI.
