Killer Castillo sentenced,
ceremony signals closure
LIVE OAK (2/22/03) -- A Sutter County judge Friday sentenced Daniel H. Castillo, 34, to two 15-to-life years state prison for the 1987 murders of Gabriel S. Ramos, 19, and Margaret Lorriane Still, 23.
Superior Court Judge H. Ted Hansen ordered Castillo to serve the two terms concurrently in accordance with a plea agreement worked out by Deputy District Attorney Brian Aronson.
Shortly afterwards, members of Still's Native American family gathered at the murder scene to thank the Great Grandfather and one graying detective for bringing them closure at last.
"Margaret's soul was in limbo. Now it sits at the right hand of God," said Still's brother, Dan Martinez, as he held a staff decorated with leather, beads, fur and feathers.
"Baby sister, you can come home now," added Rosemary Alarcon, holding a single eagle feather.
On Dec. 4, 1987 Sutter County sheriff's detectives were summoned to the Thiara Ranch on Pennington Road where they found Ramos' and Still's bloodied bodies in a tumbled-down chicken shed.
Boyfriend and girlfriend, the two farmworkers had been beaten to death with a jack handle, for reasons unknown.
Detectives interviewed other field workers -- Castillo among them -- but, lacking witnesses and clues, the case went cold, and remained so for 15 years.
Still's father was a prominent chief in the three confederated tribes of Paiute, Wasco and Warm Springs Indians, which are centered around Warm Springs, Ore. reservation.
For years Still's two small daughters, her parents and her numerous brothers and sisters struggled with the unfathomable mystery of why someone would kill "the little jokester."
In May of last year, another tragic death brought all three tribal branches of the family together for the first time in many years, Martinez said.
"We had a ceremony, a sweat and a group vision. I saw a young man presenting himself to deputies," said Martinez, who is also the Warm Springs fire chief.
"In our tradition, within 90 to 120 days of the vision something will happen," Martinez said.
Under a wild blue sky and with his back to the shed where Still's body was found, Sutter county Detective Dave McFarland told the family what happened one August morning not quit 90 days later.
"I got a call from (Nogales) Arizona saying an unknown subject had turned himself and confessed to two killings," McFarland said.
"From that day on, Margaret was part of my life," McFarland said, looking out over a white nectarine orchard filled with yellow mustard blooms.
"I spent 12 hours on a plan with him and he never showed remorse," McFarland said.
But when they sat down together, Castillo confessed to it all. Ramos and Still became aware of a stash of drugs Castillo had and he killed them to keep them quiet, McFarland said.
After the killings, Castillo returned to Mexico. Years later, key members of his family died and he decided to unburden himself of the unsolved murders.
Family members brought coffee cans filled with soils collected from Still's grave site and the graves of her deceased mother, daughter and a brother.
Circling to the four directions as Martinez chanted traditional songs, the family members sprinkled handfuls of the dirt on the ground around at the Thiara Ranch murder scene.
Dirt from the crime scene will be dispersed on Still's grave in Oregon, Martinez said. "To bring everything full circle," he explained.
In parting, Franco Martinez, the elder brother of the clan, gave the beaded ceremonial staff to McFarland as a token of deep gratitude and remembrance.
Overcome by emotion, the veteran homicide detective thanked his new-found family, and fished out a handkerchief to wipe away tears.
ceremony signals closure
LIVE OAK (2/22/03) -- A Sutter County judge Friday sentenced Daniel H. Castillo, 34, to two 15-to-life years state prison for the 1987 murders of Gabriel S. Ramos, 19, and Margaret Lorriane Still, 23.
Superior Court Judge H. Ted Hansen ordered Castillo to serve the two terms concurrently in accordance with a plea agreement worked out by Deputy District Attorney Brian Aronson.
Shortly afterwards, members of Still's Native American family gathered at the murder scene to thank the Great Grandfather and one graying detective for bringing them closure at last.
"Margaret's soul was in limbo. Now it sits at the right hand of God," said Still's brother, Dan Martinez, as he held a staff decorated with leather, beads, fur and feathers.
"Baby sister, you can come home now," added Rosemary Alarcon, holding a single eagle feather.
On Dec. 4, 1987 Sutter County sheriff's detectives were summoned to the Thiara Ranch on Pennington Road where they found Ramos' and Still's bloodied bodies in a tumbled-down chicken shed.
Boyfriend and girlfriend, the two farmworkers had been beaten to death with a jack handle, for reasons unknown.
Detectives interviewed other field workers -- Castillo among them -- but, lacking witnesses and clues, the case went cold, and remained so for 15 years.
Still's father was a prominent chief in the three confederated tribes of Paiute, Wasco and Warm Springs Indians, which are centered around Warm Springs, Ore. reservation.
For years Still's two small daughters, her parents and her numerous brothers and sisters struggled with the unfathomable mystery of why someone would kill "the little jokester."
In May of last year, another tragic death brought all three tribal branches of the family together for the first time in many years, Martinez said.
"We had a ceremony, a sweat and a group vision. I saw a young man presenting himself to deputies," said Martinez, who is also the Warm Springs fire chief.
"In our tradition, within 90 to 120 days of the vision something will happen," Martinez said.
Under a wild blue sky and with his back to the shed where Still's body was found, Sutter county Detective Dave McFarland told the family what happened one August morning not quit 90 days later.
"I got a call from (Nogales) Arizona saying an unknown subject had turned himself and confessed to two killings," McFarland said.
"From that day on, Margaret was part of my life," McFarland said, looking out over a white nectarine orchard filled with yellow mustard blooms.
"I spent 12 hours on a plan with him and he never showed remorse," McFarland said.
But when they sat down together, Castillo confessed to it all. Ramos and Still became aware of a stash of drugs Castillo had and he killed them to keep them quiet, McFarland said.
After the killings, Castillo returned to Mexico. Years later, key members of his family died and he decided to unburden himself of the unsolved murders.
Family members brought coffee cans filled with soils collected from Still's grave site and the graves of her deceased mother, daughter and a brother.
Circling to the four directions as Martinez chanted traditional songs, the family members sprinkled handfuls of the dirt on the ground around at the Thiara Ranch murder scene.
Dirt from the crime scene will be dispersed on Still's grave in Oregon, Martinez said. "To bring everything full circle," he explained.
In parting, Franco Martinez, the elder brother of the clan, gave the beaded ceremonial staff to McFarland as a token of deep gratitude and remembrance.
Overcome by emotion, the veteran homicide detective thanked his new-found family, and fished out a handkerchief to wipe away tears.
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