Teen told dad
all was OK before
her death

The Lanai girl, 17, was
stabbed 13 times in a
Maui condominium

By Gary Kubota
Star-Bulletin

Lanai resident Eddington Tolentino remembers his 17-year-old daughter Aisha reassuring him that she would be all right staying with friends on Maui, where she planned to find a job.

Less than a week later, she died after being stabbed 13 times in a Maui condominium, where a murder suspect barricaded himself.

"She told me not to worry. She said everything was OK," Tolentino said.

As Lanai residents prepare for her wake Thursday, many on the island say they're still unclear why she was murdered and what circumstances led to her being in the condominium.

Indicted Friday in the death of Tolentino were Daniel Kosi and Jennifer Kong.

The two were barricaded in the Maui Banyan condominium for about 24 hours.

Police stormed the condominium after finding Tolentino's body in the hallway on Aug. 15.

Kosi is also being held without bail in the shooting death of Maui kickboxer Eric Vinge outside his Paukukalo home on Aug. 3.

Kong was arrested Friday morning on a separate car theft charge. Tolentino's death has made some Lanai residents think whether they might have done something different to help a girl described as having a restless, independent spirit.

Described by family members as pretty and athletic, Tolentino seemed to be drifting in her early teen-age years, frequently not attending school and not observing curfews, they said.

Her grandparents Pedro and Analeta Tolentino, who adopted her, had difficulty controlling her behavior.

She was sent to the girl's home at Koolau on Oahu and escaped, becoming a fugitive for several months.

"She said the girls at Koolau were beating her up," recalled her brother Pete Tolentino.

Aisha was attending evening classes on Lanai to obtain her high school diploma and planned to stay with friends and look for a job on Maui, her family said.

"We don't know how she met those friends," said her sister Aldegunda Tolentino-Bermudez.

"She's the type who always goes to Maui on her own."

Lanai resident Dolores Fabrao remembers meeting Aisha when she was 12. Fabrao said she offered to teach Aisha to sew, but the girl never called to schedule lessons.

Fabrao said she will always wonder what she might have done to help Tolentino.

Eddington Tolentino said his advice to parents is to know your children's friends and to make sure they are good people.

"If you're going to get friends, get some good friends," he said.

Visitation will be held Thursday at the ILWU Union Hall in Lanai City starting at noon. Cremation will follow on Friday.