Despite four counts of capital murder against him, Sam George Kastanis was expected to walk out of jail and go home Friday - but not quite as a free man.
Kastanis was expected to post a $125,000 bond and be released from the Salt Lake County Jail, where he'd been staying since he was rearrested Tuesday. Two of his sisters put up their homes in Sandy and Midvale as part of the bond.Prosecutors had asked that he be held without bail, but defense attorney Ron Yengich argued that his client is entitled to a bail as long as the court is convinced he will appear for court hearings and is not a danger to the community.
The attorneys met privately with 3rd Circuit Judge Michael Hutchings in his chambers for more than half an hour before the hearing, apparently discussing the bail issue. When they finally returned in open court, the attorneys made a few brief statements and the judge announced he would allow bail.
"I'm persuaded by the fact that Mr. Kastanis has stayed in the county for a seven-month period of time," the judge said.
Kastanis, 44, was booked into jail for the deaths on Nov. 17 - the same day his wife and three children were found bludgeoned to death in their West Jordan home. He was released five days later after prosecutors determined they didn't have enough evidence to charge him. Investigators, however, labeled him as their prime suspect and continually repeated that murder charges would likely be filed.
Yengich said Kastanis knew charges would be filed against him but made no attempts to flee. "I think that speaks volumes for his willingness to appear," he said.
Yengich said his client could post a $15,000 cash bond through a bondsman and Hutchings agreed to make that part of the bail requirement. Many bondsmen require defendants to post 10 percent of the amount. The homes of his two sisters, Helen Kastanis Pavich and Louise Kastanis Rudelich, were to be posted as property bonds to fulfill the rest of the $125,000 bail amount.
The judge also ordered Kastanis to report to Pretrial Services every day by telephone and ordered him not to leave Salt Lake, Utah, Davis or Weber counties. He also told Kastanis to surrender any passports and maintain full-time employment.
Kastanis will return to his job as an equipment operator for the Salt Lake County Public Works department. The judge also ordered Kastanis' job supervisors to report to Pretrial Services if he doesn't show up for work or even if he is 11/2 hours late. Yengich said Kastanis' supervisors were "anxious to have him back."
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Aug. 10 and is expected to last at least three days.
Kastanis could face the death penalty if he is convicted of killing his wife, Margaret Ann Jenkins Kastanis, 39, and their three children, Melissa, 11; Clinton, 9; and Christine, 6. Prosecutors say the night before the slayings, his wife had signed the contract for the sale of their house.
She had apparently expressed her desire to divorce him and he indicated he did not wish to pursue custody of his children, court documents state.
Kastanis said he left the home to work in an unattached garage at 3524 W. 6825 South sometime before 10 a.m. that morning. About 10:30 a.m., he returned inside, discovered his son bleeding in the bathroom and called 911.
Prosecutors, however, indicate they have evidence that Kastanis was inside the house when the killings occurred. Court documents say their experts believe bloody shoe prints adjacent to bloody sock prints indicate Kastanis was walking from the bathroom to the downstairs while forcing his wife, who had stepped in fresh blood and was the only victim wearing socks, to accompany him against her will.
Blood spatters on his trousers and shoes show that he was in the immediate vicinity of a blunt instrument striking blood on at least three separate occasions, the documents state. Prosecutors also believe that a bloody fingerprint impression from Kastanis is on the hammer that may have been used to bludgeon the victims. Kastanis told investigators he "may have touched" the hammer after discovering the bodies.
The charges further state that some human blood on Kastanis' jacket appears to be in the shape of a handprint and that the blood type is consistent with either of his two daughters.