Alleged murder-suicide Over the past 11 years, Kenny Akira Tanaka had been divorced twice, declared bankruptcy once, was convicted of embezzling tens of thousands of dollars and ordered by a judge to put his home up for sale.
shooter beset with woes
The Mililani man was
experiencing financial
and personal distressBy Rod Antone and Nelson Daranciang
rantone@starbulletin.com ndaranciang@starbulletin.comOn Monday night, police believe, the 50-year-old Mililani man murdered one woman, shot another and then killed himself in Aiea, police said.
"He was a nice guy, always came in to say hello," said Brandon Go, manager of Alpha Video at Wahiawa Mall, where Tanaka's auto parts shop was located. "I know he was having financial trouble, but I thought he was OK."
"His store actually used to be located where we are right now," said Go. "But it was a big space and he couldn't afford it, and so we moved in and then he reopened a smaller shop a couple of stores down from us. ... Then that store closed in July."
Though police have not positively identified Tanaka as the shooter, they believe him to be the person who shot and killed 66-year-old Yang Suk Pak, the mother of his estranged girlfriend, 45-year-old Naomi Noguchi. He then shot Noguchi, critically injuring her, and killed himself, police believe.
Witnessing the ordeal was Noguchi's son, who police said called his mother's co-worker at a Waimalu liquor store to tell her that his mother was shot. The co-worker then called 911, and police were called at 9:30 p.m.
"There was an 8-year-old juvenile in the home," said homicide Lt. Bill Kato. "When police arrived he said that his mother's boyfriend had shot his grandmother and his mother." Kato said the boy has since been in the care of an aunt.
Police said the three adults and one child were at Noguchi's new rental home at 99-315 Honohono St. on Monday when the shootings occurred. Police said Pak had apparently tried to break up an argument between Noguchi and Tanaka when Tanaka pulled out a small-caliber semiautomatic handgun and shot her in the forehead. Pak's body was found in the hallway at the top of the stairs.
Kato then said Tanaka forced Noguchi into a bedroom and shot her four times before turning the gun on himself. Noguchi has since been upgraded from critical to stable condition at the Queen's Medical Center. According to a source close to the investigation, Noguchi is expected to live although she may lose an eye.
Police said Noguchi had just moved to the Aiea address recently, and according to her son had just moved to Hawaii from Korea two years ago. Tanaka's neighbors recalled seeing Noguchi, her mother and her son living at Tanaka's home at 94-497 Lehuakona St. in Mililani until this past weekend.
"I always saw the older Korean lady walking her grandson up the street," said next-door neighbor Karl Kakehi. "She seemed nice, but she couldn't speak too much English, just Korean."
Though Kakehi said he has been Tanaka's neighbor for 16 years, he said he never got to know him. Kakehi said Tanaka was among the first people to move into the neighborhood when the subdivision first opened in 1986 and had been living there with his second wife.
"He kept people out. ... You know, he had that gate and the only way you can get in is by using the intercom," Kakehi said. "You got the feeling he wanted to be left alone. ... I tried to talk to him and make friends, but he wasn't that sort of guy. ... I thought he was kind of weird."
Police said Tanaka shot himself twice, first in the neck and then in the chest. However, his death will remain classified as "unattended" until an autopsy can confirm that it was a suicide.
Court documents show he had been going through a number of financial hardships during the past decade. In 1993 he pleaded no contest to a theft charge for embezzling money from a NAPA auto parts store where he was the manager and ordered to pay $33,842 in fines and restitution.
On Sept. 21, 2001, Tanaka filed for bankruptcy after filing for divorce earlier that month. In June he was ordered to put his Mililani home up for sale after failing to pay child support.
This July, Tanaka's business, KT Wahiawa Auto Parts, went out of business.