DNA tests link blood in car to murder victim
By Peter Boylan and David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writers
DNA tests have concluded that blood found in the car of Christopher Clayburn Aki matches that of 11-year-old Kahealani "Kahea" Indreginal, the girl he is accused of murdering, according to two sources close to the case.
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The match could be a key element in the prosecution's case against Aki, who was arrested Dec. 13, 2002, the same day Kahealani's body was found off the 'Aiea Loop Trail. The girl was last seen three days earlier at the Pu'uwai Momi public housing in Halawa, where she lived.
Her disappearance triggered an intense search by city, state and federal law-enforcement agencies and Kahealani's family and supporters, who went door to door in the housing complex and swept nearby areas hoping to find the 'Aiea Elementary School sixth-grader alive.
Police and prosecutors based their case against Aki on statements he made to detectives, including one in which police said he took "sole responsibility" for the death.
But police have not been able to locate any witnesses to the slaying. Nor have they been able to verify that he dumped a metal object believed to be the murder weapon in Halawa stream, or that he left Kahealani's six gold bracelets in a trash bin, as he had stated.
City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle said he had no comment on evidence in the pending case.
Aki's lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Todd Eddins, earlier tried to prohibit prosecutors from introducing Aki's statements at trial, arguing that Aki's constitutional rights had been violated because police considered him a suspect when they interviewed him, before obtaining his statements.
On Wednesday, Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall denied a motion to ban statements. Her ruling paves the way for the start of the murder trial, with jury selection to begin March 1.
Aki, 21, who is being held on $5 million bail, was a close, longtime friend of the girl's family, and stood with them as they pleaded publicly for her safe return. He and Kahealani's 18-year-old half-sister, Tanya Mamala-Tumbaga, have an 11-month old son.
Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8110 and David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8030.
