Family suffers twice over stabbing in Ewa

The victim told police with his dying breath that his attacker was his cousin, papers say

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Before he died, a murder victim in Ewa told witnesses his cousin stabbed him, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged Tyler Aaron Condon, 22, yesterday with the murder of his second cousin Jake Ira Hale, 28, at an Ewa townhouse on Wednesday.

Police arrested Condon Thursday in Wahiawa.

Family members say the killing and arrest is a double tragedy.

"It broke my heart for Jake and for the rest of his family that's already been through so much," said Joseph Hale, a cousin of the victim, who knew both men.

"I didn't think Tyler would do this," Hale, who lives in Wahiawa, said.

An aunt on the mainland said the family wants to bring Jake Ira Hale's body home to South Dakota, but is still trying to raise money to do so.

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The family of a 28-year-old man stabbed to death in Ewa on Wednesday say they are being hurt twice by the death of Jake Ira Hale and the arrest of his cousin for the crime.

"It's very painful to the entire family," said Hale's aunt Robin Kills A Hundred on the phone. "Not only will we be losing Jake, but we'll be losing Tyler also."

Hale, a Minneconjou member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, was a native American singer and drummer.

According to court documents, Hale, 28, told police with his dying breaths that his attacker was his cousin, Tyler Aaron Condon.

Police charged Condon, 22, yesterday with second-degree murder in connection with the fatal stabbing. He is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.

"It broke my heart for Jake and for the rest of his family," said Joseph Hale, 24, the victim's cousin. Hale said Jake came to Hawaii in February from Indiana to help him with child care.

"I asked him on a Tuesday. He was out here Friday," Hale said, adding that he often said, "I'm here to help you, bro."

Jake Hale became like a second father to his 1-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter, Joseph said.

"He really looked after them like they were his own children," Hale said. "He loved it here. He was truly happy out here."

Jake grew up on a reservation in South Dakota and had never imagined he could live in Hawaii, family members said.

About two months ago, Condon arrived at Joseph Hale's house, asking to stay there until he found a place of his own. Condon had been in California with his biological father, family members said.

"He just showed up at my house," Hale said. "He was Jake's cousin so it made him family."

But Condon and the two cousins had disagreements until Joseph asked Condon to leave last month.

On July 4, Jake Hale was visiting a townhouse at Palm Villas II in Ewa that belongs to an uncle deployed in Austria, Joseph Hale said.

Witnesses saw Jake Hale calling for help about 6:15 a.m. He had multiple stab wounds to his body and neighbors rushed to try and stop the bleeding.

Hale told witnesses that his cousin "Tyler" had stabbed him, according to a police affidavit. Hale then told an officer his cousin's last name was Condon, interpreted by the officer as "Condit." Shortly afterwards, Hale could no longer speak, the affidavit said.

Hale was transported to the Hawaii Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 7:20 a.m. The medical examiner's office said he died from a loss of blood because of the stab wounds.

Witnesses said they saw Condon fleeing from the townhouse parking lot in a white four-door Buick.

A surveillance camera captured images of Condon's vehicle leaving the scene after the incident and investigators later found the car was being used by Tyler Condon, the affidavit said. It was found in Wahiawa the next day.

On Thursday, a witness called police saying that a suspect in the murder, known as "Alex," was in Wahiawa in a white Ford Focus at a 7-Eleven store. About 6:40 p.m., a police officer saw Condon on a pay phone at the 7-Eleven standing near the Ford Focus and arrested him.

Robin Kills A Hundred said she raised Hale in Indianapolis when he was a teenager: "I considered him to be a son."

"Tyler was with us as a young boy and I don't understand what happened with Tyler," she said. "We don't understand and I don't think we'll ever understand."

Hale is survived by his father, two brothers, two sisters and several nieces and nephews.

Joseph Hale recalled the last time he saw his cousin was Monday night.

With no word in Lakota, a native American dialect for "goodbye," he recalled Hale told him "Toksha," Lakota for "I will see you again."