Raul Renato Castro arraignment delayed

Right: Raul Castro in court

Mendota, California

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009
By Pablo Lopez

The Fresno Bee

The arraignment of a 14-year-old Mendota boy on murder charges in connection with the slaying of his 4-year-old neighbor has been delayed until Tuesday.

Raul Renato Castro, wearing handcuffs and leg shackles, made two brief appearance Tuesday...

Castro learned in the morning that the Public Defender's Office could not defend him because of a conflict.

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During the afternoon session, Kapetan appointed veteran Fresno defense attorney Barbara O'Neill to represent Castro, who is being charged as an adult in the killing of Alex Christopher Mercado on Oct. 30.

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...attorneys from that office once defended Castro's father, Jose Antonio Castro, who pleaded guilty in 1996 to a felony charge of a lewd act with a minor. He was sentenced to three years in prison and was deported to Mexico, authorities said...

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PDF: Investigation report about Raul Renato Castro
Family, friends say goodbye to slain boy

Raul Renato Castro, 14, admits to slaying Alex Christopher Mercado, 4

Suspect, 14, says he killed Mendota boy after molesting him.

November 5, 2009

The Fresno Bee

By Pablo Lopez

via fresnobee.com

A Mendota 14-year-old confessed to killing a 4-year-old neighbor because the boy was going to tell his mother the teen had molested him, according to a court affidavit made public Wednesday.

The affidavit is in the criminal case file for Raul Renato Castro, who sat in shackles and showed no emotion in his first appearance in Fresno County Superior Court, where he is being tried as an adult...

On Halloween night, officials from the FBI and the Sheriff's Office searched the teen's home as part of a door-to-door operation and discovered Alex's body in the dryer. The 5-foot Castro is being held in the Juvenile Justice Campus south of Fresno. His bail is more than $2 million.

A criminal complaint charges Castro as an adult with first-degree murder and four special allegations associated with that charge -- that it was committed along with child molestation, sodomy, and kidnapping, and in order to silence a witness. Castro also faces separate felony charges of kidnapping, sodomy and child molestation...If convicted, the teen faces up to 47 years to life in prison...

Raul's mother Elsa Castro declined to comment. But Raul Castro's grandmother, Desidora Hernandez, said, "He's a nice kid. We don't know what happened." Elsa Castro has described herself as a single mother, and Riofrio has said the teen's father has been "out of the picture." According to a KFSN (Channel 30.1) report Wednesday evening, Raul Castro's father, Jose Antonio Castro, is a convicted sex offender who spent three years in prison...

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Also read:

Read criminal complaint

Read affidavit

Raul Renato Castro confessed to putting 4 year old Alex Mercado in dryer

TRACIE CONE, Associated Press Writer
via The News-Herald
via hosted2.ap.org

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A 14-year-old with a baby face told investigators he drowned his 4-year-old neighbor in a bathtub then hid the body in a dryer because the child was going to reveal the teen molested him, according to an affidavit released when he appeared in court Wednesday.

Raul Renato Castro, dressed in a purple T-shirt issued at the juvenile jail, appeared emotionless while staring at his hands in Fresno County Superior Court for the in his first appearance for the murder of Alex Mercado...

...Castro eventually told police he had enticed the dimpled, brown-eyed boy into his house across the street and sodomized him, the affidavit states. He said he killed Mercado after the child fell and hit his head, started crying, then threatened to tell his mother, the document states. "Castro said he panicked and decided to kill the victim by drowning him in the bathtub," the affidavit says.

...Castro had been scheduled for arraignment as an adult on charges of first-degree murder, sodomy, child molestation, kidnapping and murder to silence a witness...


Earlier the teen had nodded without expression when Judge Jon Kapetan asked him if he understood the proceedings."He told me he was scared," said Marousek, who spoke with the teen as he sat in the jury box. "He could be in shock."

Marousek said after the hearing that she doubted the teenager understood the Miranda Rights read to him by investigators, which could put his confession in doubt. He understood well enough when he raped, murdered and hid little Alex's body.

...Bail was set at $2.1 million. Castro, who turned 14 on July 29, cannot face the death penalty but could be sentenced to as long as 47 years-to-life if convicted.

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