Murder-suicide shocks
Kahului neighborhoodThe shooter had mental
problems, according to relatives
KAHULUI >> Kahului resident Jose Delos Santos Sr. appeared to lead a normal life until recently, when suddenly he began having mental problems, relatives and friends said.
Using a handgun, he fatally shot his wife before killing himself shortly before 4:12 p.m. Sunday, police said.
Rose Kirland, a family friend, said Delos Santos was a "good provider" and that his wife, Lailani, was "soft-spoken."
"They were the 'Leave It to Beaver' family," Kirland said.
The murder-suicide shocked residents on Pona Way who lived near the couple and their teenage son and daughter.
"He was always quiet. He always said, 'Hi,'" recalled a neighbor who declined to give his name.
At age 62, Delos Santos was close to retirement in his mill job at Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co., and had recently returned from a trip to Las Vegas with 49-year-old Lailani, who worked as a maid at the Maui Beach Hotel.
Friends and relatives said Jose's personality changed suddenly. He became suspicious and threatened to kill himself.
Acting Maui Police Lt. Ron Hiyakumoto said that according to family members, Delos Santos began saying the police were watching him.
"That's not his usual self," Hiyakumoto said.
Fred Delos Santos, a relative, said Jose had been in the hospital because of his unusual behavior.
"He never sleep for three days, never eat for three days," Fred Delos Santos said.
He said Delos Santos had returned home from the hospital a couple of days before the shootings.
Neighbors said they heard two shots, and the couple's 17-year-old son found his mother and father dead in the washroom of the family garage.
Fred Delos Santos said children from Jose's previous marriage were expected to arrive from the mainland yesterday.
Hiyakumoto said investigators were still determining ownership of the handgun.
The last reported murder on Maui occurred in August 2001, when the body of 44-year-old Valley Isle resident Natalie Sagawinit was found in a sugar cane field off Pulehu Road.
Her murder is unsolved.
