Murder suspect Donovan Ornellas has been held on a $1 million dollar cash bail, with the government citing the gruesomeness of the crime.
Ornellas’ court-appointed attorney, Gloria Rudolph, made no objections and gave no response when the government requested that her client be held on a million dollars bail.
Ornellas was arrested on Wednesday for the brutal beheading of Andrew Castro. Castro was bound to a wheelchair and was discovered decapitated by his wife when she returned home from work.
The government stated that in his decade of service as an attorney on Guam he has never come across a case like this. Pointing out that Ornellas not only beheaded Castro but removed the head from the scene of the crime and took it to another part of the island, possibly attempting to get rid of evidence.
Ornellas does not have a criminal record. In fact, he was once employed at the Department of Youth Affairs.
Superior Court Judge Jonathan Quan, in setting the million-dollar cash bail, deemed that Ornellas is a flight risk as he is facing a significant amount of time behind bars.
He also noted that Ornellas has a drug addiction and thus poses a danger to the community.
Ornellas is facing murder and aggravated assault charges both with the special allegation of use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony.
A hearing is set for February 1, at 4 pm.
