Suspect's extradition delayed

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

An extradition hearing was canceled today in Indiana for Delmar J. Edmonds, the former Kane'ohe Marine accused of killing a 13-year-old Kailua girl in March 1975.

The hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday in Marion County Criminal Court in Indianapolis, said Jim Fulton, spokesman for the Honolulu prosecutor's office.

Edmonds was arrested Tuesday in Indiana after a warrant was issued here charging him with the murder of Dawn "Dede" Bustamante. He is being held in the Marion Country Jail on $500,000 bail.

Bustamante was raped and killed on a deserted road near the Pali Golf Course. The case was reopened about two years ago and fresh interviews last year led to Edmonds' arrest.

The extradition process could be speeded if Edmonds complies, said 1st Sgt. Dave Bursten, spokesman for the Indiana State Police.

"If he did agree to extradition, it would be a matter of days or weeks before he would be sent," Bursten said. "If he declines, then we have to go through the longer process, which could take 30 to 90 days. But eventually he will end up in Hawai'i."