Sister never gave up hope for justice

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

Sheri MacArthur was 12 years old in 1975 when her older sister, Dawn "Dede" Bustamante, was shot and left to die on a Kailua road. MacArthur vowed then that she would not rest until her sister's killer was caught.

Yesterday, police in Indiana arrested a man in connection with the 26-year-old murder. Delmar Edmonds was arrested after a warrant was issued in Hawai'i charging him with the murder of the 13-year-old Dede.

Sheri MacArthur, 38, still lives in Kailua and has worked tirelessly to solve the case. Over the years, she wrote to the police chief, did TV interviews and wrote a newspaper column, hoping to keep the case fresh in people's minds.

But the case remained unsolved, and the killer remained free.

MacArthur said she had the name of a suspect, but could do nothing with it. She wouldn't say how she got the name.

"I've known for many years. But all I knew was his name," MacArthur said. "It was hard. For a lot of years, I couldn't get anywhere. It was frustrating, very frustrating."

But things began to turn about two years ago when the youngest Bustamante sibling, Christie, began dating an FBI agent. MacArthur wouldn't go into detail, but she said the agent came up with information that was given to Honolulu police and military authorities.

"I knew it was just a matter of time, just a matter of time," MacArthur said.

"There had to be somebody. Somebody did this, and somebody got away with it," she added. Dede "was only a child. She was not only shot, but she was beaten and left on the road naked to die. There was just no way I was going to give up. I made a promise to her and to myself that, as long as I live, I'll keep trying to hopefully find out who did this."

Dede's father, Neil, vice president of golf operations at the Mauna Lani Resort on the Big Island, was cautious about the arrest. He said from his home in Waimea that Edmonds is innocent until proven guilty.

"I don't want to try him. When it's all said and done, we'll deal with it at that point," he said.

Following his daughter's murder, Bustamante said he was filled with anger and hatred. He wanted revenge.

But he began to teach a personal development course at the O'ahu Community Correctional Center, where he worked with a man who bludgeoned to death a 13-year-old girl. He soon learned forgiveness, even for the man who killed his daughter.

Bustamante said yesterday that the arrest of a suspect and possible trial will test his resolve.

"I was able to divorce myself of the individual and the crime and work with these people and help them in many areas. But I'm going to have to dredge up some old feelings on this and see how I really believe," he said.

Although he feels he has forgiven the person who killed his daughter, Bustamante said he can't forget the circumstances surrounding Dede's death.

"When you lose a child, that's one of the greatest failures for a parent. As far as forgetting it, no, you'll never forget something like that in one's life," he said. "But one has to live with other people, and if you truly believe in forgiveness or at least getting on with your life, you have to put some things away. And I to a great degree feel that I've put a lot of it away."