Gideon Castro, a 66-year-old Utah man who last month agreed to be extradited to Hawaii to face charges in the murder of a 16-year-old high school sophomore in 1977, will not be extradited after prosecutors said they needed more time to investigate the 48-year-old crime. After prosecutors in Honolulu declined to extradite him, prosecutors in Utah filed a motion to release him from custody, Courthouse News reports. “After careful consideration, and in the discretion of the Honolulu Prosecutor's Office, we have come to the difficult decision that we cannot currently proceed with prosecution of this case, due to recent complications involving a material witness in this case and the state of the evidence. These issues have led to the conclusion that further investigation is necessary before we proceed with extradition, which will require considerable funding and resources, and prosecution,” wrote Kelsi Guerra, deputy prosecuting attorney for the city and county of Honolulu, in a letter to Clifford Ross, deputy Salt Lake County district attorney, on Monday.
Last month, Castro appeared remotely in a Utah court and agreed to be extradited to Hawaii to face murder charges. Now he could be released. But because Castro is bedridden and has a panoply of medical ailments — including severe sepsis, paralysis on the left side of his body, acute respiratory failure, a history of sudden cardiac arrest, diabetes, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, mild dementia and hallucinations — he can’t be released from custody like an average inmate, Ross argued. Instead, the court should release him into the care of the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association, a nonprofit that provides legal representation to poor people accused of crimes who can then take him to a hospital or another medical facility, Ross argued. Third District Court Criminal Commissioner Todd Olsen said that he was inclined to sign a straight release order since the state isn’t holding Castro on any substantive criminal charge right now though, Olsen said. Turning to Castro, who appeared remotely from custody in a gurney, Olsen said the court and attorneys in the case were “working hard to get this sorted out for you.”
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