Strangling case brings high bail
A Schofield soldier is indicted in the death of his ex-girlfriend
A Schofield soldier who admitted to strangling his ex-girlfriend and running her over with her car near Kaena Point has been indicted by an Oahu grand jury with second-degree murder and car theft.
Spc. Jeffery White, 21, was arrested Oct. 8 by military authorities and turned over to Honolulu police in connection with the death the night before of fellow Army soldier Felicia LaDuke, 22.
At a hearing yesterday, Deputy Prosecutor Vickie Kapp asked the court to confirm White's bail at $100,000, calling him "extremely violent and dangerous."
She said White lured LaDuke, with whom he has a son, to an isolated area of Kaena Point and allegedly strangled her as they sat in her car. He then pushed her out of the car, ran over her body and drove off in her car.
According to police, White allegedly covered her body with brush and leaves before driving back to Wahiawa and abandoning her car near Schofield Barracks.
A few hours later, he allegedly returned to the area with an acquaintance to make sure she was dead and showed the acquaintance where he had hidden her body.
The city medical examiner later determined that LaDuke died of strangulation and blunt-force injuries.
White, who is married and has a child with his current wife, earlier this year was declared the father of LaDuke's son, now 20 months old, and ordered to pay child support.
Police said witnesses had heard White say it would be better if LaDuke would just disappear, and on at least one occasion, that he was going to kill her.
Circuit Judge Derrick Chan affirmed the high bail yesterday. White is expected to be arraigned in Circuit Court in the upcoming week.