KAI, Hawaii (KHON2) – Honolulu police are still investigating a murder Saturday, December 20, after a body was discovered during a welfare check at a home in Hawaii Kai.
Investigators remained at the home Sunday and cordoned off the street in the afternoon.
HPD said a 60-year-old woman was called for a welfare check at her home on Upolo Place around 10:20 a.m. Saturday.
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“Officers arrived and found her apparently dead, and during the course of the investigation they saw the 29-year-old man, who has now been identified as her son, and arrested him for second-degree murder,” said Honolulu police homicide detail Lt. Deena Thoemmes. “There was a female present at the time and they also arrested her for second-degree murder.”
The woman suffered fatal injuries that appeared to be blunt force trauma, police said.
As of Sunday afternoon, the victim’s identity was being withheld until the medical examiner determined the cause of death.
The two suspects had not been charged as of Sunday afternoon, but friends and sources said the woman was the victim’s niece and had been homeless for the past several years.
Court documents show she has been cited 51 times since August 2019 for a variety of offenses including park closures, harassment, littering and trespassing. Numerous summonses allege she refused asylum services. She does not have any felony convictions.
People who know the victim said she recently brought her niece home because of the rainy weather last week.
When police arrived on Saturday, the victim’s son opened the door and spoke with police, sources said.
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“The investigation is ongoing and we are working to find as much information as possible from family and friends,” Lt. Tomes added. “At this point, all we know is she was supposed to go to work and didn’t show up.”
Friends of the victim said they were shocked but described the victim as a loving, caring woman who worked hard to help her niece and son.
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