Man with leg wound
arrested in stabbing
death of friend

A 30-year-old man who walked into the emergency room of a Kailua hospital with a leg wound was arrested yesterday for the stabbing death of a 31-year-old Kaneohe man.

The victim and suspect were high school friends who had purchased a bag of candy at a nearby 7-Eleven earlier in the evening, homicide Lt. Bill Kato said.

"Right now, the motive's not clear," Kato said.

The victim's body was found about 9 p.m. Monday slumped over the steering wheel of a truck, which was parked but left idling in the middle of Okana Road in Kahaluu.

Witnesses heard the idling vehicle, which has a loud running muffler, Kato said.

The suspect's mother found the body in the truck, a red 1991 GMC pickup.

Kato said the victim received stab wounds to the lower chest and stomach and was pronounced dead at the scene, Kato said.

Police found blood evidence that indicates the victim was apparently stabbed inside the truck, Kato said.

Police said that at about 9:43 p.m., the suspect, also a Kaneohe man, arrived at the Kaneohe Fire Station at 45-910 Kamehameha Highway and asked for help because of a stab wound to his leg. He was taken by ambulance to Castle Medical Center. Kato said the suspect walked into Castle's emergency room and reported being stabbed in the thigh.

Detectives said the suspect was incoherent and had to be sedated. Police said he appeared intoxicated. He was arrested at 9 a.m. yesterday for suspicion of murder.

The two men dropped off the suspect's mother at a friend's house on Okana Road about 8:30 p.m. and said they would return after a trip to 7-Eleven.

Police canvassed the area, but no one reported hearing any disturbance at the time.