New arrest in Guerneville murder case

Matthew Hall
Staff Writer
A Santa Rosa man has been arrested in connection with the murder
of Guerneville resident Michael Van Tillman, 67.
Officers arrested Victor Costandi Dada, 68 year old, at his
Santa Rosa home on Friday July 17. Dada was arrested and booked at
the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility for accessory and
his bail has been set at $250,000.00.
Dada is the father of Andrew Brian Sharkey, a 35-year-old native
of Blackburn, England who was previously arrested for the murder of
Tillman.
Dada is the third man arrested in connection with the case. Gary
Allen Scott, 56, from Prescott, Arizona was also arrested. Scott
initially fled the area after the murder occurred and was later
tracked down in Arizona. Scott was arrested for conspiracy to
commit murder, however, once Scott was taken into custody and
interviewed and physical evidence in the case was processed,
detectives amended Scott’s charges to accessory.  
According to a preliminary autopsy report, Tillman died from
ligature strangulation. He also had a penetrating stab would to the
back of his neck and toxicology results pending prior to final
determination of cause of death.
After Dada’s arrest, a search warrant was executed at Dada’s
residence, which netted the seizure of additional evidence
pertaining to the case.
In a written statement, the Sheriff’s Department said detectives
have been persistent in their investigation and new information led
to identifying Dada as a suspect.