Latest news with #PontiacLemans
CBC
30-04-2025
- CBC
Death of inmate at Regional Psychiatric Centre closes book on horrific 1982 murder of Regina professor
Joe Duffy ambushed and murdered on highway near Kenaston, Sask. Warning: this story contains details of violence and sexual assault. The death of Robert Wapuchakoos at the Regional Psychiatric Centre on April 27 concludes a story that began with a brutal slaying that sent a shock wave through Saskatchewan in the summer of 1982. Joseph Duffy was a University of Regina education professor working on his Ph.D. at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. On June 30, 1982, a hot and sunny Wednesday, the 51-year-old was commuting home on Highway 11 to Regina in his yellow Pontiac Lemans. About 10 kilometres south of Kenaston, Sask., 84 kilometres south of Saskatoon, Duffy came across a car broken down on the side of the road. Two women were waving for help and Duffy pulled over to give assistance. Once he stopped, two men — Robert Ironchild and Brian Obey — emerged from the ditch where they had been hiding and overpowered Duffy. "For his efforts he was attacked and taken at knife point, in his own car, to a farmer's field. He was slashed with the knife and forced from his car. The four then chased him with the car and ran him over, and over," Duffy's son, Mike, wrote in a letter to his MP in 1997. Ironchild drove the car for next several days before asking a relative to dispose of it. The murder triggered a provincewide manhunt that ended one week later in Regina when the police tactical squad arrested Ironchild in a house after a two-hour standoff. At his trial in early 1983, Ironchild, then 27, was convicted of first-degree murder, thanks in part to his co-accused testifying that Ironchild was the one who stabbed Duffy and then killed him with his own car. The co-accused, Brian Obey, was later stabbed to death in Regina. Former Saskatchewan premier Allan Blakeney and Saskatchewan Chief Justice Edward Bayda served as honourary pallbearers at Duffy's funeral. Duffy had been on the national executive of the Canadian Council of Teachers of English since 1975, and on the executive of the Saskatchewan Opera Guild. Ironchild was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. While in prison in Drumheller, Alta., he changed his name to Robert Wapuchakoos. Wapuchakoos was released on full parole in 2007. In 2022, he was re-arrested and placed at the Regional Psychiatric Centre on an indeterminate sentence. Wapuchakoos died at the Saskatoon prison hospital on April 27 of apparent natural causes, according to the Correctional Service of Canada. He was 69. A pattern of trouble Parole Board of Canada documents detail how Wapuchakoos never really fully re-integrated into society after serving his 25-year sentence. He was released on day parole in 2005 and then full parole in 2007. He was brought back in and released again twice from 2009 to 2013. "In 2014, you were arrested and returned to custody and your release was eventually revoked," the documents said. "You admitted to overdosing on pain medication and 'blacking out.'" Wapuchakoos was granted his second full parole in 2019 with a handful of specific conditions, including staying within 55 kilometres of the Piapot First Nation, 30 kilometres northeast of Regina. "Documentation indicates you struggled in the community," the parole board noted. He smoked marijuana without a prescription, planned to buy a car in violation of his conditions, "and you were also reported to keep a kitchen knife nearby when talking to people such as your parole supervisor." Formal warnings to change his behaviour were issued, but his release was not suspended until May 2022. That's when police told his parole supervisor that he was under investigation for three sexual assault allegations involving "three elderly women with diminished mental capacity due to dementia." Wapuchakoos was taken back into custody and placed in an all-male care facility, but was moved after complaints of inappropriate behaviour toward female staff. He was eventually moved to the Regional Psychiatric Centre in Saskatoon on an indeterminate sentence, because "it is the Board's opinion that you will present an undue risk to society if released on full parole."
CBS News
27-02-2025
- CBS News
Schoolmate arrested in girl's 1977 murder agrees to be extradited from Utah to Hawaii to fight the charges, lawyer says
A 66-year-old suspect in the 1977 slaying of a Hawaii teenager agreed on Wednesday to be extradited from Utah to face a murder charge. Gideon Castro waived the right to challenge his extradition during a hearing before a judge in Salt Lake City. Castro, who is ill, appeared by video from a hospital bed. "He intends to fight the charges. But he agrees to be extradited to fight the charges in Hawaii," said defense attorney Marlene Mohn. On March 21, 1977, shortly after 7:30 a.m., Honolulu police found the body of 16-year-old Dawn Momohara on the second floor of a school building. She was lying on her back, partially clothed with an orange cloth wrapped tightly around her neck and had been sexually assaulted and strangled, police said. A man arrested in Utah, accused of killing his McKinley High schoolmate nearly 48 years ago, will face a murder charge on Oahu. Posted by Hawaii News Now on Wednesday, February 26, 2025 Police used advances in DNA technology to connect Castro to the killing. They had interviewed Castro and his brother in 1977. But they were unable to conclusively link Castro to the killing until obtaining DNA samples in recent years. The morning before Momohara was killed, she got a call from an unknown male and told her mother she was going to a nearby shopping center with friends. That was the last time her mother saw her, police said. Police released sketches of a person of interest and a possible vehicle described by witnesses as a 1974 or 1975 Pontiac Lemans. A witness reported seeing the car when he and his girlfriend drove through campus the night before Momohara died. The witness saw a man and the car on the grass near the school's English building, police said. In 2019, cold case detectives asked a forensic biology unit to examine several items of evidence from the scene, including Momohara's underwear. They were able to develop a DNA profile in 2020. Then, in 2023, police received information about potential suspects, two brothers who were interviewed in 1977. Several days after Momohara was killed, detectives interviewed Castro, who graduated from McKinley High in 1976. He said he met Momohara at a school dance that year and last saw her at a carnival on campus in February 1977. Police interviewed his brother, who also met Momohara at the dance In November 2023, Honolulu police went to Chicago, where the brother was living. They "surreptitiously" obtained DNA from one of the brother's adult children, police said. Lab findings excluded the brother as a suspect, but a DNA sample from Castro's adult son, and later from Castro himself, proved he was responsible, police said. Castro was arrested last month at the nursing home where he had been living in Millcreek, just south of Salt Lake City, on a fugitive warrant for suspicion of second-degree murder. Jail records indicate he is still a resident of Hawaii, and it is unclear how long he had been living in Utah.
The Independent
31-01-2025
- The Independent
Grim memories resurface after DNA advances lead to arrest of suspect in Hawaii teen's 1977 murder
Former Hawaii lawmaker Suzanne Chun Oakland remembers arriving at school one morning in 1977 to an eerie buzz. The 15-year-old had met up with girlfriends as usual before class at Honolulu 's McKinley High School when she learned a student named Dawn Momohara had been found dead on the second floor of a school building. 'I don't know how we got word of it, but everything spread really quickly,' Chun Oakland said. Chun Oakland didn't know Momohara, who was 16, but the unsolved death has haunted her and other McKinley students and staff for nearly half a century. That was until last week, when police used advances in DNA technology to arrest a 66-year-old resident of a Utah nursing home. 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. 'I was just really sad," Chun Oakland recalled earlier this week. "I think for our student body, of course there's that concern that what if he's still out there and he does it to somebody else.' On March 21, 1977, shortly after 7:30 a.m., Honolulu police found Momohara lying on her back, partially clothed, an orange cloth wrapped tightly around her neck. Details from more than four decades ago are fuzzy for 1967 McKinley graduate Grant Okamura, who was the school's 28-year-old band teacher in 1977, but the morning Momohara was found has remained a core memory. Momohara's sister — one of his flute players — arrived at school that day not knowing her sister had been found dead, he recalled. The sister was called to the office and later walked into the band room, devastated. 'The other students were trying to console her," Okamura said. "At that point, I couldn't have band. How do you have a class? She just sat there crying.' She didn't return to school for weeks afterward. He doesn't remember the sister's name. The Associated Press was unable to make contact with any possible relatives. Okamura said he met Momohara a few times when he let her into the air-conditioned band room to wait for her sister. The morning before Momohara was killed, she got a call from an unknown male and told her mother she was going to a nearby shopping center with friends. That was the last time her mother saw her, homicide Lt. Deena Thoemmes said. Police released sketches of a person of interest and a possible vehicle described by witnesses as a 1974 or 1975 Pontiac Lemans. A witness reported seeing the car when he and his girlfriend drove through campus the night before Momohara died. The witness saw a man and the car on the grass near the school's English building, Thoemmes said. The witness circled back around but the car and the man were gone. Police were unable to identify a suspect and the case grew cold, though grief lingered over the campus. In 2019, cold case detectives asked a forensic biology unit to examine several items of evidence from the scene, including Momohara's underwear. They were able to develop a DNA profile in 2020. Then, in 2023, police received information about potential suspects, two brothers who were interviewed in 1977. Several days after Momohara was killed, detectives interviewed Castro, who graduated from McKinley High in 1976. He said he met Momohara at a school dance that year and last saw her at a carnival on campus in February 1977. Police interviewed his brother, who also met Momohara at the dance. In November 2023, Honolulu police went to Chicago, where the brother was living. They 'surreptitiously' obtained DNA from one of the brother's adult children, Thoemmes said. Lab findings excluded the brother as a suspect, but a DNA sample from Castro's adult son, and later from Castro himself, proved he was responsible, Thoemmes said. He was arrested last week at the nursing home where he lived in Millcreek, just south of Salt Lake City, on suspicion of second-degree murder. Neither Okamura nor Chun Oakland remembered Castro. Chun Oakland graduated in 1979 and grew up to become a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate. She said Momohara's killing bothered her over the years, especially when she would meet victims through her work as a lawmaker or as a board member of the nonprofit Sex Abuse Treatment Center, a statewide program provding services for sexual assault survivors. Chun Oakland said she is grateful an arrest was possible even after all these years. 'I think the community in general, and our elected officials, they know the importance of trying to preserve the evidence that can someday be able to see justice for that individual or individuals," she said. ___ Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.
CBS News
31-01-2025
- CBS News
Chilling details emerge after schoolmate arrested in Hawaii girl's 1977 murder
Former Hawaii lawmaker Suzanne Chun Oakland remembers arriving at school one morning in 1977 to an eerie buzz. The 15-year-old had met up with girlfriends as usual before class at Honolulu's McKinley High School when she learned a student named Dawn Momohara had been found dead on the second floor of a school building. "I don't know how we got word of it, but everything spread really quickly," Chun Oakland said. Chun Oakland didn't know Momohara, who was 16, but the unsolved death has haunted her and other McKinley students and staff for nearly half a century. That was until last week, when police used advances in DNA technology to arrest a 66-year-old resident of a Utah nursing home. 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. "I was just really sad," Chun Oakland recalled earlier this week. "I think for our student body, of course there's that concern that what if he's still out there and he does it to somebody else." On March 21, 1977, shortly after 7:30 a.m., Honolulu police found Momohara dead. She was partially clothed and lying on her back with an orange cloth tied around her neck, said Lt. Deena Thoemmes, of Honolulu Police. A subsequent autopsy ruled Momohara was strangled to death, and the medical examiner said there were signs of sexual assault. Details from more than four decades ago are fuzzy for 1967 McKinley graduate Grant Okamura, who was the school's 28-year-old band teacher in 1977, but the morning Momohara was found has remained a core memory. Momohara's sister - one of his flute players - arrived at school that day not knowing her sister had been found dead, he recalled. The sister was called to the office and later walked into the band room, devastated. "The other students were trying to console her," Okamura said. "At that point, I couldn't have band. How do you have a class? She just sat there crying." She didn't return to school for weeks afterward. He doesn't remember the sister's name. The Associated Press was unable to make contact with any possible relatives. Okamura said he met Momohara a few times when he let her into the air-conditioned band room to wait for her sister. The morning before Momohara was killed, she got a call from an unknown male and told her mother she was going to a nearby shopping center with friends. That was the last time her mother saw her, police said. Police released sketches of a person of interest and a possible vehicle described by witnesses as a 1974 or 1975 Pontiac Lemans. A witness reported seeing the car when he and his girlfriend drove through campus the night before Momohara died. The witness saw a man and the car on the grass near the school's English building, Thoemmes said. The witness circled back around but the car and the man were gone. Police were unable to identify a suspect and the case grew cold, though grief lingered over the campus. Although police retrieved an unknown man's DNA sample from the teenager's clothing, they could not identify a suspect. Authorities would not develop meaningful leads in the homicide until decades later. In 2019, cold case detectives asked a forensic biology unit to examine several items of evidence from the scene, including Momohara's underwear. They were able to develop a DNA profile in 2020. Then, in 2023, police received information about potential suspects, two brothers who were interviewed in 1977. Several days after Momohara was killed, detectives interviewed Castro, who graduated from McKinley High in 1976. He said he met Momohara at a school dance that year and last saw her at a carnival on campus in February 1977. Police interviewed his brother, who also met Momohara at the dance. In November 2023, Honolulu police went to Chicago, where the brother was living. They "surreptitiously" obtained DNA from one of the brother's adult children, Thoemmes said. Lab findings excluded the brother as a suspect, but a DNA sample from Castro's adult son, and later from Castro himself, proved he was responsible, Thoemmes said. He was arrested last week at the nursing home where he lived in Millcreek, just south of Salt Lake City, on suspicion of second-degree murder. Neither Okamura nor Chun Oakland remembered Castro. Chun Oakland graduated in 1979 and grew up to become a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate. She said Momohara's killing bothered her over the years, especially when she would meet victims through her work as a lawmaker or as a board member of the nonprofit Sex Abuse Treatment Center, a statewide program provding services for sexual assault survivors. Chun Oakland said she is grateful an arrest was possible even after all these years. "I think the community in general, and our elected officials, they know the importance of trying to preserve the evidence that can someday be able to see justice for that individual or individuals," she said.
The Independent
31-01-2025
- The Independent
Grim memories resurface after Hawaii 1977 cold case arrest
Former Hawaii lawmaker Suzanne Chun Oakland remembers arriving at school one morning in 1977 to an eerie buzz. The 15-year-old had met up with girlfriends as usual before class at Honolulu 's McKinley High School when she learned a student named Dawn Momohara had been found dead on the second floor of a school building. 'I don't know how we got word of it, but everything spread really quickly,' Chun Oakland said. Chun Oakland didn't know Momohara, who was 16, but the unsolved death has haunted her and other McKinley students and staff for nearly half a century. That was until last week, when police used advances in DNA technology to arrest a 66-year-old resident of a Utah nursing home. 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. 'I was just really sad,' Chun Oakland recalled earlier this week. 'I think for our student body, of course there's that concern that what if he's still out there and he does it to somebody else.' On March 21, 1977, shortly after 7:30 a.m., Honolulu police found Momohara lying on her back, partially clothed, an orange cloth wrapped tightly around her neck. Details from more than four decades ago are fuzzy for 1967 McKinley graduate Grant Okamura, who was the school's 28-year-old band teacher in 1977, but the morning Momohara was found has remained a core memory. Momohara's sister — one of his flute players — arrived at school that day not knowing her sister had been found dead, he recalled. The sister was called to the office and later walked into the band room, devastated. 'The other students were trying to console her,' Okamura said. 'At that point, I couldn't have band. How do you have a class? She just sat there crying.' She didn't return to school for weeks afterward. He doesn't remember the sister's name. The Associated Press was unable to make contact with any possible relatives. Okamura said he met Momohara a few times when he let her into the air-conditioned band room to wait for her sister. The morning before Momohara was killed, she got a call from an unknown male and told her mother she was going to a nearby shopping center with friends. That was the last time her mother saw her, homicide Lt. Deena Thoemmes said. Police released sketches of a person of interest and a possible vehicle described by witnesses as a 1974 or 1975 Pontiac Lemans. A witness reported seeing the car when he and his girlfriend drove through campus the night before Momohara died. The witness saw a man and the car on the grass near the school's English building, Thoemmes said. The witness circled back around but the car and the man were gone. Police were unable to identify a suspect and the case grew cold, though grief lingered over the campus. In 2019, cold case detectives asked a forensic biology unit to examine several items of evidence from the scene, including Momohara's underwear. They were able to develop a DNA profile in 2020. Then, in 2023, police received information about potential suspects, two brothers who were interviewed in 1977. Several days after Momohara was killed, detectives interviewed Castro, who graduated from McKinley High in 1976. He said he met Momohara at a school dance that year and last saw her at a carnival on campus in February 1977. Police interviewed his brother, who also met Momohara at the dance. In November 2023, Honolulu police went to Chicago, where the brother was living. They 'surreptitiously' obtained DNA from one of the brother's adult children, Thoemmes said. Lab findings excluded the brother as a suspect, but a DNA sample from Castro's adult son, and later from Castro himself, proved he was responsible, Thoemmes said. He was arrested last week at the nursing home where he lived in Millcreek, just south of Salt Lake City, on suspicion of second-degree murder. Neither Okamura nor Chun Oakland remembered Castro. Chun Oakland graduated in 1979 and grew up to become a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate. She said Momohara's killing bothered her over the years, especially when she would meet victims through her work as a lawmaker or as a board member of the nonprofit Sex Abuse Treatment Center, a statewide program provding services for sexual assault survivors. Chun Oakland said she is grateful an arrest was possible even after all these years. 'I think the community in general, and our elected officials, they know the importance of trying to preserve the evidence that can someday be able to see justice for that individual or individuals,' she said.
