(WXYZ) — March 29, 2023, will mark 40 years since Christina Castiglione was found raped and strangled. Who did it? No one knew, until now.
Thanks to forensic-grade genome sequencing done by a private lab in Texas, the Livingston County Cold Case Team says they know who did it.
19-year-old Castiglione was last seen on March 19, 1983, near Lola Drive and 5 Mile Rd. in Redford Township.
She was leaving a friend's house and her boyfriend was on his way to pick her up.
He says he saw her walking westbound on 5 Mile but by the time he caught up to her, she had vanished.
Castiglione was found dead 10 days later, more than 45 miles away in the wooded area of Oak Grove State Game Area.
In reference to finally finding out who the killer was, Detective Sergeant Matt Young at Livingston County Sheriff's Office said; "It was amazing, I remember getting the name from the laboratory in Texas, and saying ‘Oh my gosh, we just solved a 40-year-old homicide.’"
The team was able to send Castiglione's DNA to the lab and get results thanks to a grant from Season of Justice, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding DNA testing in unsolved cold case homicides.
"Through family genealogy, we were able to link the suspect to a living uncle and ultimately come up with the name of Charles David Shaw," said Detective Young.
Investigators say Shaw committed the murder at 26 years old and died 8 months afterward by accidental sexual asphyxiation.
His wife is still alive and told investigators tha0,t before Shaw's death, "He had disclosed to her that at the time he was to undergo a sex change and was seeking counseling to do so. She also described him as a sexual deviant."
Christina Castiglione is survived by her sister Anna who told us off camera how relieved she's feeling. She never gave up hope, even interviewing with our team in 2014 to draw awareness to the case.
In 2014 Anna told 7 Action News, "There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about her."
Finally, Anna can rest, Christina's murderer has been found.
Investigators hope forensic-grade genome sequencing can help other cold case victims in our area.
Detective Young said, "We’re actually evaluating a 1966 cold case that we have to see if it would qualify for the same thing that we did with this one."
Charles Shaw had multiple run-ins with law enforcement on his record, including an arrest for another attempted abduction.
Investigators told us they're hoping that he may be the perpetrator for other cold cases in our area.
