Newswatch

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Friday, February 27, 1998

Woman killed in her
Waikiki apartment

A Caucasian woman, 35, was found slain early today at her fifth-floor apartment at the Park Plaza Apartments in Waikiki.

The cause of her death is under investigation.

She was reported missing on Monday by her employer, the Red Lobster restaurant in Waikiki. The resident manager of the complex at 1784 Ala Moana Blvd., where the victim lived, let police into the apartment about 8:20 a.m. today, aided by a locksmith.

Resident manager Connie Salemi suspected something was not right because the woman failed to pay her rent on time as she always has on the 20th of the month. "It's a shock, it's real sad," she said.

Fellow residents said the woman was quiet but polite and kept to herself. She was known to most residents as "the lady who walks the dog."

"She was no trouble to anybody," said resident Tony Lee. "I would never have guessed stuff like that would happen around here. I'm very surprised."

"It's spooky," said fourth-floor resident Carlo Fiore, who said he last saw the woman walking her black Labrador a few days ago. He had noticed it strange hearing her dog barking for the past two nights.

The woman works as a waitress at Red Lobster, half a block from where she lived. The restaurant declined comment.

Prosecutor: Wife killed despite restraining order

Arlene Marzan had a temporary restraining order against her husband, Saldy, when he showed up about 6:30 a.m Jan. 27, 1997.

She gave him a bowl of saimin before he returned to an apartment he had rented with a new girlfriend, Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter said this morning in Saldy Marzan's murder trial.

There, Saldy Marzan took a depressant for a psychotic condition, smoked crystal methamphetamine and called his wife, wanting her to come to his place to calm his anxiety.

When the 24-year-old mother of three declined, he became angry, said his friend had a gun and threatened to return and "do something crazy," Van Marter said in his opening statement. Saldy Marzan returned and kicked his estranged wife to the kitchen floor after she tried to wrestle the gun from him.

"As she was about to get up the defendant pointed the gun right at Arlene's chest and pulled the trigger one time," he said, adding the bullet pierced both lungs and her heart in front of their two youngest children.

Van Marter said Saldy Marzan, now 30, fled after making no effort to help. Van Marter asked jurors to hold Marzan fully responsible for his wife's death.

'Break-in' looked staged, slaying investigators tell Army inquiry

An Army sergeant today was accused of staging a break-in athis Schofield Barracks home to cover up choking and murdering his wife.

Honolulu police investigators say that Sgt. Jose Luis Rodriguez, 27, has already confessed to killing his wife, Angela, 22. Her body was found in the family car at about 1:30 a.m. Jan. 5 at Puu O Mahuka Heiau in Pupukea.

Today at an Army investigative hearing, a criminal investigator testified that he went to Rodriguez' home Jan. 5 after receiving a report that Angela Rodriguez was missing.

The missing person report had been filed by Angela's mother because the couple hadn't picked up their two children, and Angela Rodriguez had not reported to work or responded to calls to her pager or cellular telephone.

Army investigator Greg Nix said when he followed up the missing person report and arrived at the Rodriguez home, he saw "things that looked suspicious."

He said there were dried blood stains near the door and grafitti spray-painted on the inside of the house with a Nazi swastika on one of the walls.

But Nix said though the house appeared ransacked, nothing seemed to be stolen, such as the TV, video cassettes or jewelry.

"This indicated to me that the ransacking was not due to a struggle but it was staged," Nix said.

Meeting in Kau to focus on prison

With residents of the Kau district on the Big Island apparently split over whether a 2,300-bed prison should be built in their community, the Senate Judiciary Committee will be holding what is expected to be a jam-packed community hearing on the issue tomorrow.

The hearing will be in Pahala at the Kau High and Pahala Elementary School cafeteria.

Gov. Ben Cayetano, who recommended that Kau be the site for a new privately built prison, also intends to hold a community meeting in the district, but that meeting has yet to be scheduled, said Cayetano spokeswoman Kathleen Racuya-Markrich.

Yesterday, Cayetano, along with state Public Safety Director Keith Kaneshiro and Comptroller Sam Callejo, visited three possible prison sites in Kau.

They also inspected the minimum-security Kulani Correctional Facility outside of Hilo, which may be expanded with 1,500 beds for medium- and maximum-security inmates if plans for a Kau prison falter.

Supporters of a Kau prison believe the facility will bring jobs. Opponents fear it will ruin their rural lifestyle and bring criminals into the area.

Growers, ranchers fear withering drought

Some tropical-foliage growers on the Big Island are beginning to see losses, and ranchers fear they could be hard hit as a statewide drought continues with little relief.

Flower growers on the Big Island say production decreased significantly from Christmas through Valentine's Day, a major period for marketing their products.

Vernon Inouye, who operates Floral Resources Hawaii, estimates he lost between $75,000 to $100,000 in revenues from having fewer products to sell from his anthurium farm and other farms.

Inouye says the drought has put stress on his plants, but the past weekend rain helped to give some relief to his farms in Puna and Hilo.

Thomas P. Shiroma of Shiroma Farms estimates he lost more than $5,000 because the drought reduced the production of his pink and red ginger plants.

Shiroma says he missed a major marketing opportunity by being unable to have enough ginger to sell during the winter.

Some ranchers are beginning to feed their cattle molasses blocks to supplement their diet, a practice usually done in the dry season between August and November.

See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
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Police/Fire


By Star-Bulletin staff

Homeless man dead; police arrest suspect

A 41-year-old homeless man was arrested last night in the possible killing of another man found yesterday near the airport.

The suspect, who was questioned in the case along with three other men, was initially arrested on an outstanding criminal warrant unrelated to yesterday's case.

He was later arrested in connection with second-degree murder at 8:40 p.m.

Three other men were released after being questioned by police.

Police have tentatively identified the dead man, who was homeless, they said, but are awaiting confirmation from the medical examiner's office.

Homicide Detective Stephen Dung said there was no blood at the scene and that the man had no facial bruises or injuries to his head. An autopsy will be performed today.

Two arrested in robbery; police hunt 4 others

Police last night arrested two 17-year-old boys in connection with a robbery of an elevator mechanic and are looking for four more suspects.

The victim, who was responding to a repair call at Kuhio Park Terrace at 10:44 p.m., was confronted by six males, police said.

The group allegedly took the man's money, cellular phone and his gold necklace.

In other news...

WAILUKU -- The 75-year-old visitor who died crossing a highway in Wailea Tuesday has been identified as Ilia Iliev of Bulgaria.

WAILUKU -- Maui police said a bicyclist was killed after he crossed into a motor vehicle lane and was struck by a car yesterday in Kaanapali. The Lahaina resident was riding the bicycle along Honoapiilani Highway south of the Kaanapali Parkway at about 6:30 a.m. when the accident occurred.

See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
See our [Search] [Info] section for subscription information.