Posted on: Thursday, June 13, 2002

Father guilty in baby's death

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

An O'ahu man faces life in prison with the possibility of parole after a Circuit Court jury found him guilty of second degree murder for the death of his 3-week-old daughter.

The jury deliberated two days before finding Darren Kawaa, 21, guilty.

Kawaa claimed he was feeding the infant on April 15, 2000, and bumped her head on a door as he took her into a bedroom.

But city Deputy Prosecutor Glenn Kim said Angel Saludares died from a blow to her head that fractured her skull.

City Medical Examiner Kanthi Von Guenthner testified that six of the baby's ribs were broken about the same time she received the head injury. She said there were signs that several ribs were broken earlier and had begun to heal.

Kawaa's lawyer, Chester Kanai, portrayed the infant as sickly almost from the moment she was born and said a number of people other than his client could have injured the girl.

Kawaa will be sentenced Oct. 1 by Circuit Judge Sandra Simms.

How much time Kawaa will have to serve beyond the mandatory minimum imposed by Simms will be decided by the Hawai'i Paroling Authority.