Slain woman known as giving and kind
Linda Hannon might have been homeless, but she was no beggar, friends said. She often gave back to a community that many times would shun her.
That is why it was such a tragedy for friends that she was found beaten and dead in Kahana Bay on Feb. 25. The 56-year-old's body was found on the beach below a small ledge near the Kahana Bay fishpond.
It was an undeserved fate for a woman who cared for others and her community, and who was once a business owner and nurse, said friend Irene Theofanis.
"It was devastating, and what's really very troublesome is that they have not made any arrests," Theofanis said. "For that to happen ... it's got everyone pretty scared."
Hannon's body was found at about 1:30 p.m. Feb. 25. She was last seen at about 8 that morning.
The autopsy revealed she that she had died of blunt force trauma to the head after being severely beaten. The city Medical Examiner's Office said more tests are being conducted, including whether she was sexually assaulted.
Theofanis owns the Shrimp Shack on Kamehameha Bay, a daily stop for Hannon, who lived in the area. Hannon was described as someone who pulled her own weight.
"She never wanted anything for free," Theofanis said. "She would do odd jobs for me for meals or for cigarettes. She was a hard worker. If she borrowed money, she always paid you back."
Hannon once owned a cleaning business in Detroit and was a registered nurse before moving to Hawaii, Theofanis said. She often cared for residents with a first-aid kit she kept handy, and helped clean housing for Brigham Young University students.
The week before she died, Hannon painted over graffiti on cement barricades along Kamehameha Highway, Theofanis said.
She described Hannon as a good woman who was dealt a bad hand. About a hundred people showed up this past Sunday for a memorial on Kahana Bay, she said.
"I really don't want this to go away because she was homeless," Theofanis said. "She was a person and this is an atrocity. She's had a very rough life, being homeless in the rain and dying the way she did. But I know Linda's at peace now."