HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Murder suspect Nicholas Wayne Moore, 23, remained silent when asked about the death of Michael Jose Castro. Moore arrived here on Saturday, more than two weeks after authorities located him in Florida.
He was being held at the Department of Corrections Hagåtña Detention Facility.
Detectives with the Guam Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division escorted Moore out of the facility late Monday afternoon and took him in for questioning. At 9 p.m. Monday, police confirmed that Moore had been arrested and jailed.
Moore also stands accused in the attempted murder of a second individual on Oct. 15, 2020 in Agana Heights, according to police.
Investigation
Castro was last seen driving a beige Lexus on Oct. 29, 2020, before his mother reported him missing in early November.
His car was found, with blood splatter and bullet holes, in the storage compound of Unitek Environmental Guam in Agat on Oct. 30, according to court documents. Moore’s father is the president of the company.
Detectives identified Moore as a person of interest during the course of the investigation, which ultimately evolved into a homicide case.
Court documents indicate police interviewed Moore after finding Castro’s car, but investigators allowed him to leave Guam — with the stated purpose of going to the Betty Ford Center, a drug rehabilitation facility in California — in November.
Eight months passed before Guam’s attorney general and police chief disclosed to the public that Moore was a suspect in Castro’s disappearance. It is also believed that Moore disposed of the man’s body in the ocean using his father’s boat, according to the affidavit.
DNA testing indicated the blood found in Castro’s car matched blood found on a pistol confiscated at the suspect’s residence, according to the affidavit.
Investigators believe the victim in the second shooting was shot multiple times with a .45-caliber pistol while inside his vehicle.
Unsealed complaint
A complaint, which was unsealed Monday, was filed in the District Court of Guam on May 28 and charged the suspect with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
The U.S. Marshals Service stated that an outstanding warrant of arrest was issued by the Superior Court of Guam for murder, aggravated assault and use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rosetta San Nicolas’ motion to dismiss the unlawful flight complaint was granted by Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood.
LeRoy Moore, Nicholas Moore’s father, previously said authorities informed him when his son was arrested.
“I don’t have any comments beyond we’re saddened with all this and we hope Nicholas is innocent,” LeRoy Moore said.
The younger Moore is being represented by attorney Michael Phillips.
Nicholas Wayne Moore
Michael Jose Castro
