A 23-year-old Maui woman remains in custody after she allegedly stabbed a male acquaintance to death at a residence Monday.

The stabbing occurred at a home at 107 West Kauai St. in Kahului sometime before 2 p.m., police said.

The victim, 33, was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center in critical condition and died at 9:55 p.m. An autopsy was to be performed to determine the exact cause of death.

The identification of the victim is being withheld pending notification of his next of kin, police said.

The suspect fled to Kahului Union Church, where the Rev. Ken Tanaka said an associate pastor saw her crying in the parking lot.

“;She was visibly upset,”; said Tanaka.

The associate pastor approached her to see if she needed help but she declined.

Later, when the associate pastor checked on her, some people who knew the woman had arrived and assured him “;things were OK and they had things covered,”; said Tanaka.

The suspect was on the church's property for about 20 minutes before police arrived. It wasn't immediately clear who alerted them.

Police arrested the woman on suspicion of second-degree attempted murder. The case has since been reclassified to second-degree murder following the victim's death. Charges are pending.

Lt. Wallace Tom, a spokesman for the Maui Police Department, said homicides are uncommon in Maui County. No homicides occurred in 2007.

Two homicides - both domestic-related - occurred last year.

» Gerry Batoon and his estranged wife, Kim, were involved in a murder-suicide on Aug. 31 on Lanai.

» Joe D. Antonio allegedly fatally shot his 19-year-old son, Jose Jr., on Dec. 16 at their home in Kahului. Joe Antonio, an employee of the press department at The Maui News, turned himself in to police.