Ewa Beach man is indicted in 1999 slaying
An Oahu grand jury has indicted an Ewa Beach man on rape and murder charges in an attack on a 20-year-old woman in 1999 while he was on parole for another murder.
Circuit Judge Derrick Chan granted the state's request yesterday to temporarily hold Darnell Griffin, 48, without bail. Griffin was in custody unable to post $5 million bail that had been ordered earlier.
While the $5 million was already a "substantial amount," it was not "enough to ensure the safety of the women of the community," said Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Takata.
Griffin has yet to be appointed an attorney from the Office of the Public Defender.
Griffin was previously convicted for strangling Lynn Marie Gherardi in October 1980. In September 1999, Evelyn Luka was found beaten, raped, strangled and left for dead near the H-2 freeway. She was last seen alive leaving the Venus Nite Club on Kapiolani Boulevard with a male.
Griffin submitted a DNA sample last November to comply with a 2005 law requiring all convicted felons to submit samples to a national database. His DNA allegedly matched evidence obtained from Luka just before she died.
The grand jury returned an indictment charging Griffin with second-degree murder and first-degree sexual assault. Under the indictment, Griffin is subject to a sentencing provision that allows the state to seek life without parole for individuals previously convicted of murder.