By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
A woman's body in a trash bag was dumped sometime
yesterday beside a Dumpster in the rear of a gravel lot
near 1293 S. Beretania St.

---

Unknown female
is isle’s latest
homicide

Flower shop workers
find the body in a trash bag
discarded in a vacant lot

By Rod Ohira
Star-Bulletin

August has been a violent month on Oahu.

In nine homicide cases this month, police have charged six people, arrested two others and are looking for suspects in two other cases. Another case was ruled a murder-suicide.

There also have been several attempted-murder cases involving beach park and drive-by shootings, and three traffic deaths through the first 24 days of August.

The latest homicide call came at 12:30 p.m. yesterday with the discovery of a woman's body in a vacant gravel lot next to Beretania Florist, located at 1293 S. Beretania St.

The body was found in a trash bag left outside a Dumpster at the back end of the lot.

"One of our workers, Ken Young, was dumping rubbish and saw the rubbish bag on the ground," Beretania Florist owner June Nakamoto said. "He tried to put it in the Dumpster, but it was too heavy for him to lift."

Young and two women employees later went out to put the trash bag into the Dumpster, said Nakamoto. The Dumpster was scheduled to be emptied today, she added.

One of the women attempted to cut through the bag to lighten the load.

"There were four layers," Nakamoto said. "As she was cutting, she found a strand of hair. When she cut through, the blood came out. They came back with blood all over their hands."

Police were trying to determine the identity of the woman.

Homicide Lt. Allen Napoleon said the dead woman was Polynesian and wore a gold band with "Luika" written on it on her left ring finger.

The woman was 20-30 years old, 5 feet tall, weighed 182 pounds and had dark, shoulder-length hair. No one fitting that description has been reported missing, said Napoleon. An autopsy will be performed to determine cause of death.

Meanwhile, Napoleon said an autopsy determined that a Waikiki video store clerk suffered a skull fracture caused by blunt force.

The man, identified as 49-year-old Keith Miyashiro, was found unconscious Friday in a storage room of Waikiki Video Sales & Rentals at 2139 Kuhio Ave. He died Saturday at Queen's hospital.

Police have classified the case as a murder-robbery.

The month's other homicide cases:

Aug. 3: Lionel Ortiz, 31, killed his girlfriend, 26-year-old Candace Robino, and shot himself in a murder-suicide at the Fairway Gardens apartment complex in Salt Lake.
Aug. 4: Michael James Bentosino, 43, was charged for murdering his 3-month-old daughter, Tori, who died Aug. 2.
Aug. 7: Angelito Taca, 38, was charged for the Aug. 5 stabbing death of his 73-year-old father, Isabelo Taca.
Aug. 11: Tali Fai, 20, was charged for the Aug. 7 beating death of Vaovai "Villam" Faateleupu, 18.
Aug. 21: Tyron Galdones, 28, was charged for the Aug. 19 shooting death of James Zoucha, 27, in Nanakuli.

Also this month, Benjamin Tandal, 20, and Edward Vidal, 33, were charged in the 1997 slaying of Steven Tozon and Tranquilino "Junior" Bati. A former prison guard in federal custody for drug-related offenses was arrested but has not yet been charged with murder in the same case.

And on Aug. 15, a 39-year-old man was arrested for murder in connection with the death of John Wailehua-Hansen, who has been missing since March. The suspect, who has not yet been charged, is being held at the Oahu Community Correctional Center in lieu of $1 million bail until a Sept. 30 hearing to set aside his guilty plea on an unrelated auto theft.