Redding man charged in Bella Vista triple homicide eligible for death penalty, DA says
The Redding man charged with killing three people in Shasta County could face the death penalty, according to the district attorney's office.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Kelly Kafel said the DA's office hasn't yet decided whether to pursue the death penalty but could seek the death penalty against Michael Todd Merryman, 33, for allegedly killing two women and a man. The body of one of the women discovered on April 30, and the bodies of the other woman and a man were found on May 6.
Sheriff's office detectives investigating the deaths did not say whether all three victims were related or somehow knew each other.
While California Gov. Gavin Newsom placed a moratorium on executions in the state in 2019, criminal defendants can still be sentenced to death.
Kafel, who has worked at the district attorney's office for the past 26 years, said she could not remember the last time a person was charged with killing three people in Shasta County.
Merryman is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, arson, burglary, causing great bodily injury using a firearm, vehicle theft and stealing a dog.
Merryman was due in court Friday, May 24 for arraignment, but he did not show up and instead remained in jail due to health issues. Judge Adam Ryan set a new arraignment date for Tuesday.
Discovery of the three Bella Vista victims
The case began April 30 when sheriff's deputies were called to a home in the 21000 block of Riverview Drive in Lakehead to check on 75-year-old Pamela Castleberry, sheriff's officials said.
Deputies who went to the home noticed the house appeared to have been burglarized. Castleberry and her vehicle were missing, officials said. Castleberry was found dead inside her vehicle the next day, May 1, in a remote area of Bella Vista.
After an autopsy, officials ruled her death a homicide. Nearly a week later, on May 6, detectives returned to the area where Castleberry's body was found and found two more people who had been killed and their bodies badly burned, officials said.
The two were identified as Cynthia Duran, 41, and Louis Sanchez, 48. The causes of their deaths also were ruled homicides, officials said.
Sheriff's officials said in a news release that the bodies of Duran and Sanchez were not in the area when they initially found Castleberry on April 30.
Detectives obtained evidence that tied Merryman to the three deaths. They did not say what evidence tied him to the killings.
Merryman, who had an arrest warrant for violating parole, also was in a vehicle crash in the Oak Run area on May 13 and had been taken to a Redding hospital, officials said.
Detectives arrested Merryman at the hospital, where he remained until he was cleared to be booked into jail, officials said. On Friday, Ryan ordered Merryman held in jail without bail.
Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Redding man charged in triple homicide eligible for death penalty
