StarBulletin.com

Attackers loose since stabbing


By

POSTED: Tuesday, October 28, 2008
                       
This story has been corrected. See below.

 

Police are looking for two men accused of entering a Pearl City home and fatally stabbing a 29-year-old man early yesterday morning in what police say was “;not a typical home invasion.”;

 

;[Preview]    One Man Dead And A Woman Injured In Pearl City Home Invasion  
  ;[Preview]
 

Police are hunting for 2 masked men who stabbed a man to death in Pearl City and beat his girlfriend with a gun.

 

Watch ]

 

 

 

 

  The Honolulu Medical Examiner's Office confirmed the man's name this morning as Brendan Caires. His father told reporters yesterday that his son's first name was spelled Brandan.

Outside the victim's townhouse yesterday at the Waiau Gardens Kai complex on Noelani Street, family and friends trickled in and out of the home where Caires was stabbed. Caires' next-door neighbor said “;God bless”; to Caires' family members.

At 1 a.m., Caires and his 27-year-old girlfriend were in their enclosed porch at the back of the townhouse when two men, wearing white hockey goalie masks, entered through an unlocked door, police said.

There was a brief struggle, when Caires confronted one of the men, who was armed with a knife. The other man had a handgun and hit the girlfriend in the head with the butt of it, said Caires' father, Alfred Caires.

“;There were two masked men,”; he said. “;They hit the girlfriend, and they stabbed my son and dragged him outside and threw him out. By the time the (girlfriend) got up, it was too late.”;

Alfred Caires talked briefly yesterday before his daughter took him inside the house, saying the family was still in shock and requested privacy. He said they lived in that home for more than 25 years.

Neighbors declined to talk to reporters, saying only that it is a typically quiet community. Nearby, neighbors had decorated their doors with “;Happy Halloween.”;

Fujii said police recovered a knife they think is the weapon close to the crime scene. The Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy that found a single stab wound to Caires' chest caused his death.

There was also one other person — a friend — at the home at the time of the attack who complained about pain to his ribs, said homicide Lt. Bill Kato.

Police have not yet determined a motive, and the relationship between the attackers and the couple remains unclear, Fujii said.

“;We're not really sure what the motive is,”; Fujii said yesterday at an afternoon news conference. “;But we want the public to know ... we don't believe this was a typical home invasion. We believe there may be an association between the victims and the suspect.”;

Fujii described the suspect with the knife as in his early 20s, about 6 feet tall, weighing 140 to 160 pounds. The other was also described as in his early 20s with a slim build, about 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, weighing about 160 pounds. Both were wearing black long-sleeved, hooded sweatshirts and black pants.

 



               

     

 

 

CORRECTION

       

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

       

  Brendan Caires, 29, was stabbed to death at his Pearl City home early Monday. A story on page A4 in yesterday's morning edition and on page A1 in Monday's afternoon edition incorrectly spelled his first name as Brandan.