Suspect Arrested Nearly 50 Years After Hawaii Teen’s Murder Using DNA Breakthrough

Gideon Castro, 66, was charged with second-degree murder after DNA evidence linked him to the 1977 killing of 16-year-old Dawn Momohara at her high school.

• Dawn Momohara, 16, was found strangled and sexually assaulted at McKinley High School in Honolulu on March 21, 1977.
• The case remained unsolved for decades until advancements in DNA technology allowed police to reanalyze evidence in 2019.
• Investigators identified Gideon Castro, a former classmate of Momohara, as a suspect after DNA from the crime scene matched his genetic profile.
• Castro, now 66 and living in a Utah nursing home, was arrested on January 21, 2025, and charged with second-degree murder.
• Authorities credited the arrest to collaborative efforts between local and federal law enforcement agencies and the application of modern forensic science.

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