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Slain baby’s mother
By Suzanne Tswei
describes last evening
Star-BulletinDarren Kawaa, accused of killing his 3-week-old daughter, was gentle with the baby and took good care of her, the baby's mother testified.
But Dr. Kanthi Von Guenthner, deputy medical examiner, said the baby clearly was the victim of homicide, dying from head injuries that resulted from being picked up and "banged onto the floor or any hard object."
Kawaa is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Angel Saludares, who weighed seven pounds and was just under two feet long.
During yesterday's preliminary hearing in District Court, homicide Detective Allan Castro said that Kawaa told police the baby's head accidentally hit a door as he was trying to close it.Kawaa wiped away tears during the hearing as his girlfriend and the baby's mother, Candice Saludares, described what occurred before and after their baby was found lifeless April 15.
The night before, the couple went to bed about 1:15 a.m., but the baby woke up sometime after 2 a.m., Saludares said. She got up and played with Angel until 3 or 3:30 a.m. when Kawaa got up and fed milk to the baby. Afterward, they put Angel in her baby carrier and she fell asleep.
The couple stayed up to play video games and went to sleep sometime after 4 a.m. The next morning, Saludares woke up to find Angel pale, motionless and not breathing, she said.
Saludares said she has no idea what happened to cause the baby's death. The baby was alive and conscious when the couple went to the sleep.
Kawaa told police Angel was injured accidentally while Saludares slept during the early morning hours, Castro said. After the couple went to sleep, Angel woke up again and Kawaa said he got up to feed her more milk, Castro testified.
The baby fell asleep after he took her out of the bedroom, and the accident occurred as he returned to the bedroom. Kawaa told police he was holding the baby in his right arm as he turned to close the door, and the baby's head hit the door, Castro said.
"He described it as an accident," Castro said. Then Kawaa said he "squeezed" the baby's sides and placed her into her carrier "a bit hard."
The next day, after the couple discovered the lifeless baby, she was taken to Kapiolani Hospital at Pali Momi, where she was pronounced dead.
Van Guenthner said Angel received "head injuries" that had to be caused by "substantial force" and mostly likely resulted from a single blow, she said.
The baby also suffered broken ribs, head bleeding and a bruise to the right temple.
An accident could not have caused these injuries, Van Guenthner said. Because a baby at such a young age has a thin and pliable skull, "substantial force" was necessary to inflict the "complete skull fracture" and some of the other injuries.
The head injuries would cause loss of consciousness, seizures, respiratory irregularities and inability to feed, she said. With these fatal injuries, the baby would have died in about an hour.
Under questioning by defense attorney Ed Harada about the rib fractures, Von Guenthner said the fractures could not result from cardiopulmonary resuscitation attempts.
The baby also had rib fractures that occurred seven to 10 days before her death, she said.
After the hearing, Judge Norman Lewis ordered the case sent to Circuit Court, where Kawaa is to stand trial. Kawaa remains in prison in lieu of a $100,000 bail.
