Identity of man buried in
Maili back yard confirmed

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By Nelson Daranciang
Star-Bulletin

The Honolulu Medical Examiner's Office has confirmed the identity of a man whose daughter told police she buried him in her back yard two years ago.

The remains of Samuel Burrows were dug up at 86-185-A Mailiili Rd. in Maili by police and specialists from the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory on March 27.

He was 75 when he died.

Stephanie Yama, 50, who now lives in Richland, Wash., told relatives in Hawaii and on the mainland that she buried her father in the back yard after he died of natural causes in May 1999.

She had earlier told them she had placed her father in a care home.

The medical examiner listed the cause of death as undetermined.

"From our end the case is closed," said Mike Tsuda, Honolulu police homicide detective.

However, Tsuda said he referred the case to federal investigators to determine whether Yama continued to receive her father's Social Security checks after he died.

Yama moved to Richland shortly after she buried her father.

Other people were renting the duplex when Burrows' body was recovered.