Man accused of killing grandparents must stand trial judge rules

A 34-year-old man accused of gunning down his octogenarian grandparents in their gated Palm Desert home -- and later allegedly reporting it to authorities -- must stand trail on two murder charges, a judge ruled on Friday.

Frank Scott Castro III of Palm Desert was arrested in September 2019 on suspicion of killing Frank Castro, 83, and Carolina Castro, 81, whose bodies were found inside their home in the 43000 block of West Calle Las Brisas. Following a preliminary hearing at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Anthony Villalobos found prosecutors presented sufficient evidence to warrant a trial on two murder counts.

The defendant was also held to answer on sentence-enhancing allegations of discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury, and a special circumstance allegation of perpetrating multiple killings, which could have opened him up to the death penalty had prosecutors opted to pursue it. He remains in custody without bail, and is scheduled to return to court for a post-preliminary hearing arraignment on Aug. 18.