911 call: Girl 'did really bad things'

By Christie Wilson
Neighbor Island Editor

Hyacinth Poouahi, at times in tears, told a Hawai'i County 911 dispatcher that a troubled 10-year-old girl in her care had become too much to handle, according to 911 transcripts released yesterday by the Hawai'i County Fire Department.

Poouahi called 911 on Feb. 7 after the girl had become ill and would not get up to be fed at her 'Ainaloa Estates home in Puna. The woman told the dispatcher that she had been caring for her friend's daughter since October, and that the girl had "done all kind of stuff, like, you know, really bad things."

The transcripts were heavily edited to protect the girl's privacy and did not elaborate on what those "bad things" were, but Poouahi, 37, told The Advertiser on Friday that the girl had been exhibiting inappropriate behavior and was hurting herself by gouging at her scratches until they became infected. The Advertiser is not publishing the girl's name to protect her privacy.

The girl was taken by ambulance to Hilo Medical Center with what police described as "festering head and body wounds." She was flown to Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children, where she remained in "very critical condition" yesterday, according to state Department of Human Services spokesman Derick Dahilig.

Police are investigating the girl's injuries but no one has been arrested.

The child's father told The Advertiser he was preparing yesterday to leave Hilo to visit his daughter today. He said he learned of her situation only Thursday, and immediately flew to Honolulu, but was unable to visit his daughter because he had not made arrangements with Child Welfare Services, which has taken legal custody of the girl. The state agency also removed five other children from Poouahi's household, none of whom appeared to be hurt.

The father, who is estranged from the girl's mother, said he has been distraught over what happened. He said he did not want to comment further for fear of hampering the police investigation.

The Advertiser has been unable to contact the girl's mother, who left the girl with Poouahi.

In 'Ainaloa, neighbors said Poouahi and her family were decent people and that the children in the home seemed to be well-cared for, except that the girl seemed neglected, angry and prone to outbursts.

"She was a sad little girl," said Bunnie Lino, who worked with Poouahi and knew the girl from the 'Ainaloa neighborhood. "You would ask her, 'Where's Mom?' and she would say, 'I don't know. Mom doesn't care.' Why would a 10-year-old think that, that her own mommy doesn't care?"

On the 911 tape and in an interview, Poouahi said the girl's behavior worsened when she learned about a month ago that the family was trying to contact her mother. She said the girl began wetting and soiling her pants, pulling out her own hair and hitting a younger boy in the family.

"I'm trying to get her, um, into some kind of help ... but she has this thing where (she) doesn't want to leave me," Poouahi told the 911 dispatcher.

The woman later tells the dispatcher, "But you know, she cannot stay here, that's why I was trying to get her help. I have five other children."

Poouahi told the dispatcher that the girl hid in a lava tube a day or two before Feb. 7 and that she may have been bitten by something, as it looked like she had bite marks on her foot and "she really smells bad."

She told The Advertiser that another possibility is that the girl's wounds were infected because she would hide in the dog house with the family dog.

Poouahi denied reports that the child ever slept in the dog house, but said on two or three occasions the girl did sometimes take a blanket and hide in there, particularly when Poouahi was taking care of her eldest daughter.

Poouahi told The Advertiser she was unable to get medical care for the girl because she was not her legal guardian, but she also acknowledged that she should have taken the girl to the hospital emergency room when her condition worsened.

She said people in Puna make obscene gestures at her because they believe she is responsible.

"Everybody's making me out to look like a murderer, like I let this happen to this girl, and I really loved her and I would put my life on the line for her," she said. "I didn't know that she had an infection."

According to Family Court records, the girl spent much of her younger years living in Pahoa with her mother in an apartment behind what was then known as the Pahoa Lounge. Her mother and father never married and have been estranged for years, friends said.

Her mother married another man, and in 2001 she sought a restraining order against him, alleging that he had a drug problem and was abusive, according to court records.

Staff writer Kevin Dayton contributed to this report. Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.