ROSEMARIE BERNARDO / RBERNARDO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Christopher Clayburn Aki appeared before District Judge Russel Nagata yesterday morning at District Court. At right is deputy public defender Mits Murakawa.
Boyfriend’s action Accused killer Christopher Clayburn Aki held a picture of Kahealani Indreginal as family members of the 11-year-old girl made a public plea Thursday for the girl's safe return, even though police say he already knew she was dead.
shocks Kahealani’s
sister
Suspect tells police he beat girl with pipe
Friends do not believe suspect acted alone
By Nelson Daranciang
ndaranciang@starbulletin.com"How could you just stand out there knowing that she's not going to come back and saying she's going to come back safe?" said Tanya Mamala- Tumbaga, Aki's girlfriend and Indreginal's half sister. Mamala-Tumbaga, 18, has an 11-month-old son with Aki, 20.
Aki now sits in a special holding cell at the Oahu Community Correctional Center for his own safety, charged with murdering Indreginal.
"Because of the notoriety of the case and his age, what we determined, in his best interest, that he be placed under observation, like what we did with (convicted Xerox killer) Byran Uyesugi, until we can determine the appropriate placement for him," said Clayton Frank, OCCC warden.
Frank said Aki will remain in the prison's medical module until the medical and mental health staff can assess his risk of suicide. And because of the circumstances of the case, especially since it involved a child, there is a concern for Aki's safety if he is placed in the general prison population, Frank said.
Aki is charged with second-degree murder for both causing the death of Indreginal and for failing to render aid to or get medical help for the girl. The Honolulu Medical Examiner said Indreginal died from head and neck injuries.
Aki is also charged under a state statute that allows prosecutors to seek a life prison term without the possibility of parole if he is found guilty if the crime was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel manifesting exceptional depravity. The usual sentence for second-degree murder is a mandatory life prison term with the possibility of parole.
Mamala-Tumbaga expressed shock and confusion over her boyfriend's alleged role in her half sister's death.
"He was like the older brother of the family. He took care of her. Whatever she wanted, he would get for her. So I don't understand anything about this," Mamala-Tumbaga said.
She said she and other family members confronted Aki several times after witnesses reported seeing him with Indreginal the day the 11-year-old girl disappeared. But each time, he denied knowledge of the girl's fate, Mamala-Tumbaga said.
"I told him, 'You better not lie to me, because if you know where she is, you better tell us.' And he said: 'I didn't do it. I don't know nothing about it.'"
Aki made his initial court appearance for the murder charge yesterday. District Court Judge Russel Nagata confirmed Aki's $5 million bail. Aki is scheduled to return to court tomorrow for a preliminary hearing.
In a statement to police, Aki said he picked up Indreginal at the Puuwai Momi housing complex last Tuesday afternoon, but it was someone else who fatally beat her, according to an affidavit police submitted to the court yesterday.
According to police, Aki initially implicated two other men as also being involved, but he later recanted that statement and said he acted alone.
Police said two residents who know Aki identified him as the man who was last seen with Indreginal at the housing complex and with whom she later left.
