Serial killer leaves trail of grief, fear in Phoenix

PHOENIX — In a blue-collar Phoenix neighborhood known for gang and drug violence, Margarito Castro’s 19-year-old son Manny was learning to be a welder just like his father. Father and son carpooled together to work until June 10, when Manny was shot dead as he sat in his car in front of his girlfriend’s house by a suspect identified this week as the city’s first serial killer in a decade.

Now Margarito Castro goes to visit Manuel “Manny” Castro Garcia’s grave daily, mystified why someone targeted his son and six other people since March. Police say all were killed by a thin, lanky man with a handgun who is probably in his 20s and that there is no known motive.