Artist offers $10,000 to solve case
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Artist Wyland was so angry after reading about the lack of progress police have made in their investigation into the disappearance of a nightclub promoter that he is offering a $10,000 reward for information that could help solve the case.
The story of Carlos Carrillo and his mother's search for information appeared Wednesday in The Advertiser. Carrillo, a 28-year-old nightclub promoter, disappeared July 4, 2000, from a bar, then called Evolution Waikiki, at 478 'Ena Road.
His mother and his fiancee are convinced that he was beaten to death in front of several witnesses, but his body has never been found.
Despite the fact that Carrillo's girlfriend told police that she was able to hear him being beaten and that she was abducted for several hours, no one has ever been charged.
"I'm mad as hell," Wyland said yesterday. "It could have been anybody's son. Whatever I can do to get people mad, to get the crime solved in the state, I will do."
Wyland, known for his murals of whales, said he hopes to get other businesses to add to the reward.
"It's just not right," Wyland said. "It just can't happen like that. It's up to citizens to stand up."
Detective Letha DeCaires, coordinator for the Honolulu Police Department's CrimeStoppers program, said she understood the family's pain but cautioned that any amount of money offered has not been a proven factor in solving cases.
CrimeStoppers offers a maximum $1,000 reward for homicides, which is a standardized amount used by law enforcement agencies across the country, DeCaires said. The Carrillo case is eligible for the $1,000 reward, according to DeCaires.
"We are able to solve murders with that," she said. "The only thing the money is about is getting a person past the apathy of talking about the crime. The amount of money really isn't the issue."
But Carrillo's mother, Maya Carrillo, was stunned by the artist's generosity.
"Oh, my God, I have goosebumps," she said by telephone from La Jolla, Calif. "That is incredible. I'm blown away. I can't begin to thank him."
Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.
