PHOTO COURTESY OF KITV "Danny" Lam apparently fainted yesterday and was attended to by paramedics at the courthouse.

Accused killer
collapses

The incident, caught on camera,
interrupts a hearing in court

A 50-year-old Kapahulu man who police say admitted to killing his wife collapsed while in court yesterday to face a charge of second-degree murder.

Tan "Danny" Lam, a real estate agent, made his first court appearance at Honolulu District Court on a charge of second-degree murder.

During the hearing, the shackled Lam apparently fainted. He was treated by paramedics at the courthouse.

The hearing resumed, and Lam was held in lieu of $500,000 bail.

According to a police affidavit filed in the case, Lam called 911 and told a police dispatcher that he had killed his wife sometime prior to 5:52 a.m. Saturday.

The affidavit states that Honolulu police officer Thomas Ching was sent by police dispatch to 3028 Kaunaoa St., where he was waved down by Tam, who told Ching that he was "sorry" and that he killed his wife.

According to Ching's statements, Lam also said his wife was in the bedroom downstairs and that he did not want his children to be awakened and see her there. Lam allegedly had bloodstains at the time on his lower right leg and left elbow area.

Another HPD officer at the scene found the victim, Melodie T. Lam, 41, in a downstairs bedroom of the house lying on a mattress with severe head injuries. On the bed near the victim, police found a large hammer believed to have been used in the attack, according to the affidavit.

Police took Danny Lam to the Queen's Medical Center for medication and an evaluation, and he stated that voices told him to kill his wife and to use the hammer.

Neighbors said the two had marital problems, and Lam had been worried about his wife's talk of getting a divorce. The couple's two children are staying with family members.

The couple were both real estate agents, employed at Dower Realty in Kaimuki. They had lived in the neighborhood near the Honolulu Zoo and the Waikiki Shell for 10 years.