Posted on: Monday, June 13, 2005

Man charged in wife's death

By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer

A 50-year-old Kapahulu man was charged yesterday with the beating death of his wife.

Tan Lam, aka Danny Tan Lam, was charged at 6:30 p.m. with second-degree murder. He is scheduled to appear today in District Court. Prosecutors are requesting bail be set at $500,000.

Lam is accused of killing his 41-year-old wife, Melody, Saturday at their Kaunanoa Street home.

Police officers responded to the Lam home after receiving a call at 5:52 a.m. from a man who said he had killed his wife. They found the body of Melody Lam inside the house and arrested her husband there.

The Lams have two children, ages 8 and 6, and both parents were employed as agents by Dower Realty. The children are being cared for by relatives.

Michael Lam, Tan Lam's brother, yesterday said he never saw his brother act violently.

There was one domestic-violence homicide in Hawai'i last month.

Okalani Kaiwi Mollena, 22, of Ho'olehua, Moloka'i, died from injuries May 29 at The Queen's Medical Center after being punched in the head by her boyfriend and father of two of her three children during an argument May 28 at the Hotel Moloka'i. Manden Kamai, 24, was charged with murder.