Help offered on 'Peter Boy' case

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

The state attorney general's Cold Case Unit has offered its investigative expertise to Big Island authorities in an effort to learn what happened to Peter "Peter Boy" Kema Jr., a Hilo child-abuse victim who disappeared nearly eight years ago under suspicious circumstances.

Peter Boy

"I think, as with every other cold case, our focus is not to pressure another agency to assume jurisdiction over a case," said Deputy Attorney General Christopher Young, supervisor of the Criminal Justice Division that oversees the Cold Case Unit. "We are not in a situation where we are telling the Big Island, 'Give us the case because you are not working it hard enough.' We are saying, 'If assistance is needed, we are here.' "

Young said his office made the offer to Hawai'i County Prosecutor Jay Kimura and also to the Big Island police department, which five years ago concluded a homicide investigation into what happened to the child. The idea was proposed informally in November during a training seminar and again earlier this year, he said.

Young said his office has not received any indication that help is needed, but added that the idea was well-received. It never hurts to have an independent review a file, he said.

"It is like any other case out there," Young said. "Sometimes there may be an angle or a piece of evidence or investigative technique that hasn't been used that might be helpful in solving the case."

Prosecutors plan to meet with police early this summer to discuss the status of the case, and Mike Kagami, the Big Island deputy prosecutor assigned to the Peter Boy case, expects the offer from the attorney general to come up for review.

"I don't think it would hurt," Kagami said. "I think there is a benefit to doing that. After you have had something for a while, a fresh set of eyes can be helpful."

Lt. Randall Medeiros, who oversees the Big Island Police Department's Criminal Investigation Section, said the request for help would have to come from police Chief Lawrence Mahuna. But he also said that police have not asked for help because the case was turned over to prosecutors.

"This case has already been referred to the prosecutor's office for review and charging," Medeiros said. "Because of that, we haven't asked for their assistance. I wouldn't rule it out but as of this point, that is why we haven't done that."

Where is Peter Boy?

Peter Boy's fate has become an unsettling mystery for authorities and the community.

The child's parents — Peter Kema Sr. and Jaylin Kema of Hilo — told police in January 1998 that he was given away to a family friend months earlier. Peter Kema Sr. explained that he had taken the boy on a job-hunting trip to O'ahu in August 1997 but gave him to a woman named Auntie Rose Makuakane because he was running out of money for food and the pair was living in a tent in 'A'ala Park.

Auntie Rose was described as a lauhala weaver from the Halawa area and a cousin to Peter Kema Sr.'s stepfather. Police have never confirmed that she exists and after investigating what happened as a missing person's case for two years, concluded it was a homicide in June 2000.

What happened to the child during his brief life is well documented by the state Department of Human Services. But details of the case — like all cases involving child-abuse victims — remained confidential until Saturday, when Human Services Director Lillian Koller opened some of the files.

She released 23 pages of an estimated 2,000 pages her agency plans to make public. All those files already have been given to Big Island prosecutors and police.

Koller said she told Kimura the files contained information "that should get you some justice."

"There sure seems to be some things in there that could be very helpful for a criminal prosecution," Koller said.

Concerned employees

Koller expects to release the rest of the files in a single batch once her staff reviews it and redacts references to Peter Boy's siblings.

She said she also must deal with a growing concern among employees who object to their names being made public. So far, only one staffer's identity has been redacted from the documents because that person, a social worker, filed a union grievance.

But Koller fears that sentiment could snowball among other staffers.

"I am alarmed that maybe the people who don't like the fact of getting these records out will be more aggressive about this and try to stop me," she said.

Such aggression included a death threat last week.

The state Department of Public Safety, at the request of the governor's office, is investigating the threat, but would not elaborate, spokesman Mike Gaede said.

Koller said authorities know who made the threat, declining to be specific.

Even so, she said she felt safer before she got it.

"It is understandable that feelings are running high," Koller said. "The fact that there is a death threat is understandable, but we are handling it with all seriousness in the proper way."

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.