Posted at 10:25 a.m., Wednesday, October 17, 2001

Suspect in 1975 murder returning to Hawai'i

By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer

An Indiana man will be brought back to Honolulu tomorrow to stand trial for the 1975 murder of a 13-year-old Kailua girl.

Delmar Edmonds, 46, charged with killing Dawn "Dede" Bustamante, has been held in lieu of $500,000 bail in Indianapolis since July. Two Honolulu police officers flew to Indianapolis Monday to take custody of Edmonds.

Edmonds was a Kane'ohe Marine base when he allegedly kidnapped Bustamante and another girl, 13. Bustamante was sexually assaulted and then shot to death. The second girl managed to escape unharmed.

A former Marine who had been stationed with Edmonds told authorities last year that Edmonds had asked him to lie about his whereabouts on March 14, 1975, the night Bustamante was killed. The new evidence led to Edmonds' indictment for murder in July.