Sanity trial underway for man who killed grandparents in Palm Desert
A sanity trial got underway today for a 37-year-old man who, in the midst of his trial, pleaded guilty to fatally shooting his octogenarian grandparents inside a gated community in Palm Desert more than four years ago.
Frank Scott Castro III pleaded guilty Dec. 4, 2024, to two counts of murder, along with a special circumstance allegation of perpetrating multiple killings and sentence-enhancing allegations of discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury.
Deputy District Attorney Samantha Paixao and Castro's defense attorney David Kaloyanides delivered their opening statements in the sanity phase of the trial Monday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, according to Riverside County District Attorney spokesperson Brooke Beare.
If he is determined to have been sane at the time of the crime, Castro III could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Anthony Villalobos said. Otherwise he will be sent to a state hospital for mental health treatment.
He was arrested in September 2019 for the killings of Frank Castro Sr., 83, and Carolina Castro, 81, whose bodies were found in their home in the 43000 block of West Calle Las Brisas.
During opening statements, Paixao told jurors that on Sept. 11, 2019, the defendant murdered his own grandparents in their home.
As his grandfather was reclining in his chair, dozing off, the defendant shot him "not once, not two, but three times," Paixao said. The victim was shot once in the right shoulder, once in the left neck area and once through his left side temple. The grandmother was shot in the kitchen, also three times, the prosecutor said.
"The defendant then placed the gun down with one remaining bullet,'' Paixao told jurors. "He waited approximately 20 minutes before he called 911."
The prosecutor said Castro admitted to the shooting to a dispatcher on the 911 call, saying, "I shot them. They're dead.'' He also said he had smoked meth that day.
Deputies responded at about 2 p.m. Sept. 11, 2019, to the West Calle Las Brisas address on reports of gunfire, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. Deputies found the two victims shot to death inside the residence, and the defendant standing at the front of the property.
The defendant waited on the patio for law enforcement and surrendered without incident, according to a trial brief. As Central Homicide Unit investigators attempted to interview him, he told them that he had used methamphetamine and had been up for 72 hours.
A black semiautomatic handgun was found on the kitchen counter of the home, according to the brief.
Castro III remains in custody without bail at the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio. He has no prior documented felony convictions in Riverside County, court records show.
