Divers to seek Honolulu police divers plan to search the mouth of Halawa Stream for the metal pipe believed to be the weapon used to kill 11-year-old Kahealani Indreginal last week, according to a source close to the investigation.
murder weapon
A pipe allegedly used to
Police need prompt reporting
kill an 11-year-old may have
been tossed in Halawa StreamBy Rod Antone Nelson Daranciang and Debra Barayuga
rantone@starbulletin.com ndaranciang@starbulletin.com dbarayuga@starbulletin.comChristopher Clayburn Aki, 20, who was indicted yesterday by an Oahu grand jury on a charge of second-degree murder, told police that he killed Indreginal with the pipe on Dec. 10 and then got rid of the weapon near Halawa Gate at the entrance to Pearl Harbor, according to the source.
Indreginal's body was found near Aiea Loop Trail Friday, three days after she disappeared from the Puuwai Momi Housing complex in Makalapa.
Police have said that Aki has admitted full responsibility in the girl's death but they have not released details of what he told them. A source close to the investigation said Aki, who is the boyfriend of Indreginal's half-sister, admitted to the beating and provided details of the attack to police during a reenactment of the crime on Sunday at Keaiwa Heiau State Park.
Aki told police that he was having a meal in his car with Indreginal and became angry when the girl slapped him after he had accidentally spit food out of his mouth and it landed on her, according to the source.
The source told the Star-Bulletin that Aki said he struck Indreginal in the car, stunning her or knocking her unconscious, then dragged her into a brush area outside the parking lot and beat her with a metal pipe that he found on the ground.
Aki told police that he beat her a second time after washing his hands of blood at his car and returning to find that she was still alive, according to the source. Police have found evidence of blood in the interior of Aki's blue Dodge Neon but have not recovered the pipe, the source said.
They are expected to soon search the mouth of Halawa Stream, near Halawa Gate, at Pearl Harbor, where Aki said he dumped the weapon, according to the source. The stream is within walking distance of the Puuwai Momi Housing complex where Indreginal was last seen alive. Meanwhile, public safety officials said that Aki will be placed in protective custody for his own safety, while he is being held at Oahu Community Correctional Center. Warden Clayton Frank made the assessment after seeing Aki for the first time on the prison's security camera monitors. "He's a really small guy. A guy like that looks like prey," Frank said.
Aki is 5-feet-8 inches tall and weighs about 110. Frank's other concerns are Aki's age, 20, and that this is his first time in a correctional facility.
He spent his first night in the prison's medical module on suicide watch while OCCC staff make safety and suicide risk assessments. Frank said Aki's first night was uneventful and Aki reported that he slept OK.
Protective custody inmates are housed in a separate module with limited access away from the general prison population. The module is designed to hold 24 inmates. There are 10 inmates there now.
Deputy Public Defender Todd Eddins has been assigned to defend Aki. He said he met with his client for the first time yesterday and noted that Aki was lucid and able to communicate. After speaking to Aki's mother, "the family's paramount concern centers on his mental state and physical well-being," Eddins said.
According to Aki's records, he has no adult convictions. Aki did mention he was arrested in an auto theft case in which he was a passenger, but nothing had come of the case, Eddins said.
Deputy Prosecutor Vickie Kapp noted that Aki had been arrested for auto theft and a firearms offense in 2001, but the cases had not been prosecuted. She did not elaborate why.
After the grand jury returned the murder indictment, Circuit Judge Dan Kochi granted the state's request to maintain Aki's bail at $5 million. Eddins said the bail amount is excessive.
"Given that he does not possess the financial wherewithal to even post $5,000, the $5 million bail amount suggests prosecutorial grandstanding," Eddins said.