Suspect in girl's murder confesses, police say
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By Dan Nakaso and Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writers
The fiancé of Kahealani Indreginal's half sister told detectives that he acted alone in Kahealani's murder, Honolulu police said yesterday, hours after they released two other men who had been arrested in the 11-year-old Makalapa girl's disappearance.
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Christopher Clayburn Aki, 20, of Kalihi, was charged with second-degree murder last night and bail was set at $5 million. He is expected to be arraigned in District Court this morning.
Honolulu Police Maj. Darryl Perry said people tend to believe that abductions are usually committed by a stranger. "Statistically speaking, often it is not," he said.
"He accepted the responsibility for what his actions were that day, and there were no other parties involved in this," homicide detective Lt. Bill Kato said.
Aki has a criminal history that includes felony charges. Kato would not be specific but said there were no drug-related cases and "nothing compared to what has happened in the past few days."
On Thursday, Aki held a picture of Kahealani and stood with his fiancée as the girl's family pleaded for her safe return. He was arrested Friday and last night was being held at the main police station on Beretania Street.
Tanya Mamala-Tumbaga, the mother of Aki's 11-month-old son, learned last night during a candle light vigil for her sister that charges were now directed only at her fiancé. Tears brimmed in her dark eyes as she considered implications, then rejected them.
"What if he is just taking the rap for all of them?" she said. "What if he just said that because he didn't want to deal with them in jail? They could separate them. They could bring them back in and keep them separate ...."
Mamala-Tumbaga said she had not talked to Aki since his arrest, but planned to as soon as police allowed.
Lehua Tumbaga, mother of Kahealani and Mamala-Tumbaga, said authorities had told her nothing about the release of the two other men. Kahealani's father, Vincent Indreginal, said he found the news difficult to accept.
"To me, it doesn't seem that this is something Chris could pull off by himself," he said. "He doesn't have the guts to do this. And to a child? Maybe he is scared of the other individuals."
Aki's mother, Patricia, had been notified of the turn the investigation had taken. She said her religion would provide the answers in her life — and her son's.
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"He confessed," she said. "But my life must go on. His flesh will have to reap the consequences, but his soul is saved."
A preliminary autopsy of Kahealani Indreginal's body was completed yesterday, but the results were not released.
A preliminary autopsy was completed yesterday, but the results were not released. Kato said there was no indication of sexual assault. The Medical Examiner's office yesterday declined to comment.
Police homicide detectives early yesterday morning released an 18-year-old man and a 31-year-old homeless man, Robert Edmund Hicks II, after concluding that they were not involved.
"I'm sure the public is going to be concerned," Kato said. "They heard that we arrested three people and we let two go. ... We want to make sure that once we release these people that they're not going to be bothered or harassed."
Kahealani's disappearance led parents and teachers to talk to children about safety and the chances that a stranger might kidnap them.
"We as a society have a tendency in believing that the boogeyman is the stranger," Honolulu Police Maj. Darryl Perry said yesterday. "Statistically speaking, often it is not. It's people who know each other."
In his initial statement to homicide detectives, Aki implicated the other men and said robbery was the primary motive, Kato said. But Aki's original account did not match the physical evidence in the case, police said.
Now, investigators' belief that Aki acted alone is "substantiated by the physical evidence," said Kato, who declined to go into detail.
Kahealani was last seen Tuesday near her Pu'uwai Momi home after school. On Friday, a hiker discovered her body on the 'Aiea Loop Trail. Kahealani was fully clothed. Although her Hawaiian bracelets were missing, her necklace and earrings were found with her body.
"Robbery may have been a part of it," Kato said. "Now, it still may be a small part of it, but not the main thrust of what happened."
Police also confiscated Aki's 1998, four-door blue Dodge Neon, and hope to find witnesses who may have seen it near the 'Aiea trail.
On Saturday, investigators received information "that turned out to be very significant," Kato said. "I'm sure there are people out there who may have seen something and if they think it's significant, please call us."
Police said that when they realized that Aki's story about the other two men was not backed up by evidence, detectives confronted him with the discrepancies.
"At that time he mentioned that his first story was false and those two other individuals — the 18-year-old and the 31-year-old — had nothing to do with it, and he accepted full responsibility for what happened," Kato said.
Advertiser staff writers Mike Gordon and Rod Ohira contributed to this report.
