Suspect names sought before trial in Kahealani death
By David Waite and Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writers
If the man accused in the death of Kahealani Indreginal plans to say at his trial that someone else killed the 11-year-old Halawa girl, he should be required to name that person before the trial begins, according to city prosecutor Peter Carlisle.
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Carlisle has asked for a court order that would require Christopher Aki, 20, to tell prosecutors who he believes is responsible for the girl's death before his trial begins.
Christopher Aki
Kahealani Indreginal
The trial for second-degree murder charges is scheduled for the week of Sept. 15.
Late last month, Carlisle filed a routine request for a court order that would require Aki's lawyer, state deputy public defender Todd Eddins, to turn over defense information such as witnesses Aki intends to call, the names of expert witnesses he intends to call, medical reports and other materials the defense plans to use as evidence.
But Carlisle also asked that Eddins be required to identify "any person or persons whom the defendant intends to name at trial as having committed the murder of Kahealani Indreginal."
A hearing on Carlisle's request is scheduled for 9 a.m. tomorrow before Circuit Judge Victoria Marks.
Carlisle could not be reached last night, and Eddins declined to comment.
Myles Breiner, a prominent Honolulu defense attorney and former Honolulu deputy prosecutor, called Carlisle's request "unusual but not unheard of." Carlisle wants to prevent any surprises during the trial, Breiner said.
"I think he wants to avoid the possibility of the defendant saying, 'Yeah, I said I did it, but I was under duress when I confessed and, in fact, it was some other person," Breiner said.
The rules that pertain to criminal proceedings in Hawai'i require a defendant to provide certain kinds of information if he or she plans to call alibi witnesses at trial. Breiner said Carlisle's request is a "variation of the rules that pertain to the alibi defense, one that pushes the outside edges of the envelope."
Indreginal's body was found off 'Aiea Loop Trail on Dec. 13, three days after she disappeared from Pu'uwai Momi public housing in Halawa.
Aki was arrested a day later, after police said he gave two statements, one implicating two men in the murder and a second in which he admitted to killing her. The statements implicating the other two men were discredited.
On Friday, police searched unsuccessfully for a murder weapon in the brush along the 'Aiea Loop Trail where the body was found.
Homicide Lt. Bill Kato said Specialized Services Division officers assisted homicide investigators in the half-day search for a metal object, possibly with one sharp end. "We've been meaning to come back and do a complete search of the area for a weapon," Kato said.
Aki told police he threw a metal object into the water where Halawa Stream empties into Pearl Harbor. The week before Christmas, police sent divers into the water, who found nothing.
The murder weapon and the girl's gold bracelets have not been recovered. Police are still awaiting test results of blood evidence recovered from Aki's car, Kato said.
