'Aiea shooting leaves man, woman dead

Two people are dead and one injured after a multiple shooting last night at 99-315 Honohono St. in 'Aiea. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer

The shooting deaths of a man and a woman in an ‘Aiea apartment last night are “tending” to look like murder-suicide, police said this afternoon.

But if a man identified as Kenny Akira Tanaka, 50, was in fact a suicide, he may have shot himself twice before he died, investigation indicates.

It will be the Honolulu medical examiner who will determine the exact cause and nature of the deaths, said Lt. William Kato, head of homicide investigations, speaking at a press conference this afternoon.

Kato said the man suffered two gunshot wounds, one which passed through his neck and one fatal shot in the center of his chest.

Naomi Noguchi, 45, who survived four gunshot wounds to her face, neck and chest in the melee, is expected to recover, Kato said. Police said earlier today that she was in stable condition at The Queen's Medical Center.

Police will want to ask her why Tanaka, identified as her estranged boyfriend, went to the apartment at 99-315 Honohono St. at about 9:30 last night and apparently fatally shot Noguchi’s mother, Yang Suk Pak. He then shot and wounded Noguchi then finally killed himself.

That was the account given by Noguchi’s 8-year-old son, who called one of his mother’s co-workers after the shooting, Kato said.

Relatives have taken custody of the boy, who was not injured.

Gun shot residue tests being conducted on the hands and bodies of the victims should reveal whether anyone other than Tanaka fired any shots, Kato said.

A .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun, apparently capable of holding eight bullets, was found near the man’s body, he said.

Financial problems cited

Tanaka was the former owner of Wahiawa Auto Parts, which went out of business in July.

Lt. William Kato, head of Honolulu Police Department homicide investigations, said it appeared Noguchi, her mother and the boy had just moved into the apartment yesterday from Mililani.

According to court records, Tanaka was granted a divorce from Kathy Ishimoto-Tanaka on Sept. 11, 2001, and as part of an agreement, he was allowed to live at their Lehuakona Street residence provided he pay half of the monthly mortgage of $1,046.

The court, however, ordered the home to be sold last month because of Tanaka's failure to keep up mortgage payments.

Tanaka reportedly went to the 'Aiea apartment last night and began arguing with Noguchi. Acquaintances said they had met about a year ago on the Internet.

Based on witness statements, Pak was in the kitchen and was shot once with a .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun when she tried to intervene, Kato said. Tanaka then forced Noguchi into the bedroom, where he shot her before taking his own life.

Salesman Kenneth "KO" Okimura, who sold auto parts to Tanaka's business at Wahiawa Mall for two years, said Tanaka had serious financial problems.

"I know he had money problems but he was the type to flash his money," Okimura said. "I can see maybe now where he's coming from because of all his money problems."

Okimura said Tanaka met Noguchi on the Internet, possibly in January of this year, and that she was the former owner of a grocery store in Whitmore Village. "Around March, they were talking about opening a small restaurant in Hale'iwa," Okimura said. "I don't know what happened to that."

Okimura said he was forced to cancel Tanaka's business account because of delinquent bill payments. "He had a lot of internal problems because he wasn't putting anything back into the business and didn't spend much time there," Okimura noted.

Lianne Kitajima, a property manager for Properties West, said Tanaka was not paying his rent and had to close the business in July. "He was really struggling, especially after 9/11 when all the military got deployed because he sold a lot of parts to them," Kitajima said. "I guess it just snowballed.

"I'm really shocked," she said of the shooting.

Advertiser staff writers Rod Ohira and Mike Gordon contributed to this report.