Livingston County Cold Case team solves 1983 murder decades later
LIVINGSTON COUNTY, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The Livingston County Cold Case team has solved the murder of Christina Castiglione after nearly 40 years.
Castiglione was reported missing on March 21, 1983. She was 19 years old when her mother reported her missing. According to the sheriff's office, Castiglione lived with her parents in Redford and was not married but had a boyfriend.
On March 29, 1983, police responded to reports of a body in the Oak Grove State Game Area on Faussett Road in Deerfield Township. When deputies arrived at the location, they found the body of Castiglione partially clothed and lying in a remote wooded area.
Detectives discovered evidence that she had been sexually assaulted and strangled to death.
The medical examiner found and collected male DNA sources.
According to the sheriff's office, the DNA samples were preserved, and when DNA technology advanced, they were added to the CODIS system in the early 2000s, but a suspect was still not identified.
In March 2022, the Livingston County Cold Case Team applied and received a grant through the non-profit Season of Justice to conduct advanced DNA testing on the sample.
In May 2022, the DNA sample was sent to Othram Inc., a private forensic lab in Texas.
Scientists were able to produce leads for the Cold Case Team by using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing.
Charles David Shaw was then identified as the suspect, and three separate familial DNA comparison tests confirmed his identification. Shaw died in November 1983.
Initially, detectives couldn't find any connection between Shaw and Castiglione, but after talking to Shaw's living residents, they learned he lived in Livonia, less than five miles from where she went missing.
"Based on information received from Shaw's family, he was described as a sex addict with a disturbing life who struggled with mental illness and his gender identity," according to the Livingston County Sheriff's Office. "Charles Shaw had several interactions with law enforcement beginning at a young age. One such interaction resulted in his arrest in 1981 for the attempted abduction of a woman in the Fowlerville McDonald's parking lot."
The Livingston County Sheriff's Office says Shaw's family members were essential in identifying him as the suspect in this case.
"We are hopeful that the surviving family members of Christina Castiglione, along with victims and families of other violent unsolved crimes who have been awaiting justice for decades, experience closure as genealogical DNA continues to help law enforcement advance efforts to achieve justice for victims," said the Livingston County Sheriff's Office.
