Redding man pleads guilty to triple murder in 2024 case that started with a

A Shasta County man is set to spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty to murdering three people last year.

Michael Todd Merryman, 34, pleaded guilty this week to the murders of a Lakehead woman and two other Shasta County residents last spring, according to the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office. He is set to be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, plus 126-years-to-life in prison, the DA’s office said.

The killing spree began when Merryman broke into the Lakehead home of 75-year-old Pamela Castleberry on April 30, 2024 and burglarized the residence when she was not home. But when she returned to the house he shot her in the back of the head, the DA’s office said.

Merryman tried to cover up the murder by cleaning up the blood and stuffing Castleberry’s body into her SUV, officials said. Her SUV was found several days later on a remote property in Bella Vista with her body inside.

A few days later, Merryman recruited two strangers, Cynthia Duran, 41, and Louis Sanchez, 48, to help him retrieve Castleberry’s SUV from the Bella Vista property where he left it.

But when the trio arrived, the SUV was gone because it had been collected by sheriff’s deputies. At that point Duran and Sanchez locked themselves in the cab of the truck they were in and tried to get away, the DA’s office said.

Merryman then shot and killed the two, pulled them from the truck and set them on fire, officials said.

Merryman stole Duran’s truck and her dog, Bamb Bamb, and tried to get away but crashed a short time later, officials said.

The man then abandoned the dog and wandered into the woods. Sheriff’s officials found Bamb Bamb, and after an extensive search found Merryman on May 22.

Merryman is scheduled to be sentenced at 2 p.m. March 26 in Shasta County Superior Court.

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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 pleads guilty to triple murder, faces life in prison

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