Big Isle airman A 19-year-old Air Force F-15 mechanic from the Big Island faces the possibility of execution for allegedly killing a fellow airman at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa.
accused in killing
He may face the death penalty in a
murder at an Okinawa air baseBy Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.comAn Air Force Article 32 hearing, which is similar to a civilian grand jury, will be held later this month to determine if there is enough evidence to court-martial Airman 1st Class Damien G. Kawai, a 2000 Pahoa High School graduate, in the murder of Airman 1st Class Charles F. Eskew, 20, of Great Falls, Mont.
Air Force officials have the option of trying the case as a capital offense. If they choose to prosecute as a noncapital crime, Kawai faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Eskew was found dead in his dormitory room on Nov. 17. Kawai was taken into custody two days later.
Kadena spokesman Masao Doi said the cause of death is still under investigation.
But the Pacific Stars and Stripes reported yesterday that Eskew apparently died of strangulation, and his wrists were slit to make it look like a suicide.
Brig. Gen. Gary North, 18th Wing commander and special court-martial convening authority, has appointed Maj. Steve Thompson, a military judge from Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, as the investigating officer who will hold the Article 32 hearing to review the evidence and make recommendations as to whether the case should go to trial.
North's recommendation will be forwarded to Lt. Gen. Thomas G. Waskow, commander of the 5th Air Forces and U.S. Forces Japan, who will determine if a general court-martial will be held.
Waskow, under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, has the choice of trying Kawai's case as either a capital or noncapital crime.
"It remains critically important that these proceedings be as thorough as possible to ensure fairness for all parties involved," North said in a written statement.
Both Kawai and Eskew worked in the same section at Kadena's 18th Maintenance Squadron. The two men also were in technical school at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas before being assigned to Kadena -- their first overseas assignment.
The Pacific Stars and Stripes also reported that the two men apparently shared a common interest in religion.
Kawai joined the Air Force in September 2000 at age 17, after his mother signed a waiver required because he was under 18.
"I've been dealing with this day by day. ... It's just the beginning," Kawai's mother, Christina Morita, who lives in Hilo, said yesterday. "Right now, it's even harder because he's thousands of miles away." She declined further comment.
Kawai's aunt, Laura Kawai of Kohala, first heard about the murder charges against him during the holiday season. "I was shocked to hear what happened," she said.
"We didn't think he was capable of doing that. He was more to himself as he was growing up. He didn't really talk much," she said.
Recently retired Pahoa High counselor Bob Williams remembers Kawai as a "pretty nice kid, pretty balanced."
"I just can't believe it," said Williams, a retired Army colonel, last night. "It just floored me. I recruited him for the military. I thought it was the best chance for his life.
"I feel a little guilty that he got tangled in this mess somehow."
But Williams is passing no judgment and said he does not believe Kawai is capable of murder. "He wasn't an athlete or scholar, but he was an akamai boy. I never saw him with the potential for violence."
Williams described him as a big, good-looking boy. "Smart, with a twinkle in his eye. You could talk to him like an adult, and he got it," he said.
Kawai's dormitory room at Kadena -- which is in central Okinawa and has a population of 21,000 active-duty military personnel, dependents and Department of Defense civilians -- was described as being decorated with posters from Hawaii, many of them surfing scenes.
Several airmen from Dormitory 629, where Eskew and Kawai lived, said Kawai was one who routinely pestered Eskew, Stars and Stripes reported.
Kawai was promoted to his current rank on March 16.
Star-Bulletin reporters Rosemarie Bernardo
and Leila Fujimori contributed to this report.