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 has led to the arrest of 16-year-old Dawn Momohara. The case of murder can be solved.
Momohara, who was discovered with an orange cloth wound tightly around her neck, was found on March 21, 1977, on the second floor of the English building at McKinley High School in Honolulu. She was a sophomore in school at the time.
Her former classmate, Geodon Castro, now 66, was living in a Utah nursing home when she was arrested Tuesday in the alleged homicide, according to the Honolulu Police Department. Decades after the case went cold, Castro has been charged with second-degree murder.
Deanna Themis, a lieutenant with the department’s homicide detail, credited the arrest with technological advances that enabled the use of DNA samples in a way that was not possible in 1977.
Officers found Momohara “lying on her back, partially clothed. She appeared to have been sexually assaulted and was pronounced dead at the scene,” Thomas said.
Later examinations revealed injuries and other evidence confirming that she had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
According to Thomas, he received a phone call from an unknown person the morning before his murder. Later that day, she informed her mother that she would visit the shopping center with some friends. That was the last her mother heard from her.
After her body was found, detectives interviewed several friends, family members and acquaintances about the case — including Castro — but were unable to identify a suspect despite following up on several leads.
A composite sketch of a person of interest, as well as a possible suspect vehicle, has been available on HPD’s website for years, as it has asked the public to send in any tips about the case.
However, in 2019, police began processing several items recovered from the murder scene for DNA evidence, including a pair of blue shorts and underwear. The following year, they were able to obtain a DNA profile of an unknown male from the sperm that was on Momohara’s shorts.
With the help of FBI and Homeland Security investigations, detectives located Castro and were able to match the unidentified DNA profile earlier this month, officials said. Castro is now in custody in Salt Lake County and awaiting extradition in Honolulu, according to the Times.
“I want to thank all the individuals and agencies that made today’s arrest possible,” he said. “Thank you all for your dedication and commitment to the tireless pursuit of justice for Dawn and the Momohara family.”
