Kailua woman dies from injuries in stabbing, fire
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
One of two women stabbed and badly burned when a Kailua home was torched last week died from her injuries yesterday, the same day her nephew was ordered to stand trial on charges of trying to murder the two.
Sharon White, 58, suffered slashes to the left side of her head, both arms and upper torso, then suffered burns over 55 percent of her body. But moments before she was rushed to the hospital April 5, she identified her nephew Micah White as the attacker, according to court testimony yesterday.
Micah White, 20, is accused of trying to murder both his aunt and his mother.
Micah White, 20, is accused of trying to murder both his aunt and his mother, Kerry White, 48, by not only stabbing them, but also setting fire to the house at 1214 Kainui Drive. The crime shocked the neighborhood, leading some to come forward and help the White family.
Honolulu District Judge Faye Koyanagi heard testimony yesterday about Sharon White's identification of Micah White and sent his case to trial on charges of attempting to murder the two women and charges of criminal property damage.
Honolulu police later said Sharon White died at the Straub Hospital and Clinic. One of the attempted-murder charges is expected to be changed to a murder charge in view of the death.
To assist the White family, make checks to Samuel L White and deposit at the Bank of Hawaii 'Aikahi branch.
During the hearing, Micah White sat with his head bowed, hands clamped together, crying constantly as a fire investigator, paramedic, trauma surgeon and police officers detailed the grisly conditions of his mother and aunt.
How to help the White family
But at the end of the hearing as he was escorted from the courtroom, he turned to a group of friends in the gallery. "I love you guys," he told them. "Please pray for my family. I love you all."
Fire Capt. Glenn Solem, the fire investigator assigned to the case, testified during the hearing that he asked Sharon White what happened to her and her sister-in-law, Kerry, as they lay in an ambulance in front of the burning house.
"I thought she was unconscious, so I bent over and asked, 'Who did this to you?'," Solem said.
"Her eyes opened and she mumbled something with an oxygen mask on. So I asked her again, and she reached up, removed the oxygen mask and said, 'Micah, Micah did this to us.'
" 'Who's Micah?' I asked. (She said) 'Micah, my nephew Micah did this to us.' "
Paramedic Andrew Chong said Sharon White's arms were "flayed to the bone" and the scent of gasoline in the back of the ambulance where the two women were initially treated was so strong that he almost got sick.
Homicide Det. Theodore Coons testified that Kerry White had phoned her husband, Sam, while he was on his way home from work to tell him that Micah was "tweaking again" and threatening her with a rolling pin.
There was no testimony about any motive, but Coons said after the hearing that Sam and Kerry White suspected that their son had been abusing drugs, but when they confronted him, he denied it.
According to testimony from Dr. Thomas O'Callaghan, a trauma surgeon at The Queen's Medical Center, Kerry White had a "high risk" of dying. She is likely to be scarred and probably will be hospitalized for several months, he said.
Kerry White suffered stab wounds to the front of her neck and twice to the left side of the chest and burns over 80 percent of her body, O'Callaghan said.
Her condition deteriorated over the weekend and she was flown Saturday to a Mainland hospital where she underwent surgery yesterday, according to police.
Her eldest son, Kawika, and her husband flew to the Mainland to be with her, Det. Coons said.
Kerry White is a registered nurse who had not been working before the fire because she is physically disabled, said Deputy Prosecutor Rich Stacey.
Witnesses testified that Micah White fled the scene and went to nearby Kailua beach, where he stripped down to his shorts and jumped in the ocean. Police officers recovered his clothes from the beach, and Honolulu Fire Department fire specialist Claire Chun said gasoline was detected on all articles of White's clothing.
Solem said burn patterns from the fire indicate it was started with an ignitable liquid. He said that he found a melted plastic gas can at the scene and that the fire started simultaneously in the living room, hallway and sewing room.
Members of the Windward Soccer Club have collected new clothing and money for the White family. The fire destroyed the house and all of the family belongings, said Charlotte Farmer, one of the organizers of the collection drive. The club has set up a collection for money with Bank of Hawaii's 'Aikahi branch, Farmer said.
Advertiser staff writer Eloise Aguiar contributed to this report. Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.
