Concert honors dead Maui teen

More than 100 attendees call for justice in the July 28 death of 18-year-old Yesuah Boerstler

KIHEI, Maui » With a punk rock band playing at a feverish pitch at a restaurant in south Maui, more than 100 people paid their respects at a memorial concert for 18-year-old Yesuah Boerstler and expressed hope for justice.

"Yesh was murdered. ... I want witnesses speaking out," said Boerstler's mother, Fatima Negron.

Negron said she hopes someone will come forward and tell her what really happened on July 26 when Boerstler attended a birthday party at Pauwela Light House.

A jogger found him lying unresponsive on the side of a road at Pauwela the next morning.

He died at Maui Memorial Medical Center on the evening of July 28.

An autopsy showed his head injuries were apparently caused by a vehicle running over him.

About 50 to 60 people were at the party that night.

Some friends suspect he may have been the target of a hate crime because of his punk-rock appearance, including black leather jacket and skin-tight pants.

"They hate us because we wear funny clothes," said Justin Wood, a tambourine player with the DCs, a punk rock band that Boerstler played drums and sang in.

Banners and signs outside and inside the Life's a Beach restaurant called for justice in Boerstler's death.

Maui Police Lt. Glenn Cuomo said yesterday the investigators had no suspects but were continuing to investigate the death as a murder.

"We're continuing to work full-time every angle," Cuomo said.

Several bands played for free at the concert and people spilled out of the restaurant to a lawn bordering Foodland in Kihei, where they sat in groups and listened to the music.

"It just really confirms to us how much Yesh was loved," said Yesuah's dad, William Boerstler.

Boerstler, who lived in Kihei, grew up on Kauai and dropped out of King Kekaulike High School as a freshman.

Wood said Yesh was working toward obtaining his GED and enjoying life.

Yesterday's concert was a way for friends and family to come together to express their feelings, Wood said.

"It's a hard time, but we're having a good time for Yesh," he said. "We've got to let out aggression with music."