Mom tries to make
sense of slaying

Police say the killing
of Tracey Tominaga is related
to a Jan. 23 shooting in Nuuanu

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By Rosemarie Bernardo and Nelson Daranciang
rbernardo@starbulletin.com | ndaranciang@starbulletin.com

Tracey Mieko Tominaga stopped by her mother's home in Pearl City on Jan. 9 to give her dog a bath after she took it to the veterinarian.

"She seemed to be fine. She didn't say anything about any problems she was having," Betty Tominaga said.

That was the last time she would see her daughter alive.

"It was unsettling," Betty Tominaga said. "It was difficult not knowing what happened. ... As time went by, we thought maybe something may have happened to her, but we weren't sure. When we finally found out, it was a relief she was recovered, and yet it seems like such a senseless act."

Two weeks later, Betty Tominaga was notified by police that a missing-person report for Tracey was filed with the Honolulu Police Department.

Last week, officials recovered Tracey Tominaga's body in a shallow grave in Makakilo after police received a tip from an anonymous caller.

"She wouldn't hurt anybody. I couldn't understand why," Betty Tominaga said.

A memorial service will be held for Tracey Tominaga at Leeward Community Church at 10 a.m. Saturday. The church is located at 1860 Komo Mai Drive. Inurnment will follow at the Valley of the Temples.

Tracey Tominaga was born on Nov. 21, 1964. She lived with her parents until October, when she decided to move to Kapahulu to be closer to work.

The 37-year-old worked as a refreshment center attendant at Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Betty described her daughter as an independent woman who cared for others.

"She stood up for the underdog," Betty said. "She helped them through however she could."

Tominaga loved going to the beach and collecting shells, and also enjoyed golfing and hiking, she added.

Betty thanked the police and God for locating her daughter.

"We can finally have closure and put her to rest," she said.

Tracey Tominaga was listed as a material witness in her boyfriend's attempted-murder case when her body was found.

A state judge had even granted the boyfriend's attorney court costs to hire a private investigator to see if Tominaga's disappearance was related to her boyfriend's case.

However, the two cases are not related, said Lt. Bill Kato of the Honolulu police homicide detail.

Tominaga's murder is related to another case, the Jan. 23 murder of 40-year-old Edward Fuller in Nuuanu, Kato said.

One or more suspects in the Tominaga murder is also involved in the Nuuanu shooting, Kato said.

He would not say how the two murders are related.

Tominaga was last seen alive Jan. 20. Fuller's body was found at Jack Lane on Jan. 26 with multiple gunshot wounds, including one in his back and two in the back of his head. Kato had said Fuller's murder was drug-related.

Jason Perry, 23, was arrested last week for both Tominaga's and Fuller's murders. However, police charged Perry with just drug promotion and a firearm violation. He made his initial court appearance on the charges yesterday. Perry remains in custody in lieu of $1 million bail.

"He was the most unpredictable. ... He would be the most dangerous of them all (the suspects)," Kato said.

Kato said he and other detectives plan to question a few more people on Tominaga's murder.

Police arrested seven other suspects for murder, kidnapping and hindering prosecution in connection with Tominaga's murder over the weekend but released them without any charges.

Tominaga's boyfriend, David Harraway, 32, was arrested Jan. 7 for a shooting that occurred Nov. 10, in front of their Kapahulu residence.

Harraway is accused of firing three shots from a shotgun at a group of people who were trying to collect a debt from people who also lived at the Brokaw Street home, according to court documents. A woman lost an eye after being hit in the face by one of the shots.

Harraway's trial is scheduled for July.

"I think the Lord will take care of just punishment," Betty Tominaga said. "As Christians we have to forgive them. Right now, we're just not ready to deal with it."