honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Tourist in alleged beer-theft at store died of asphyxiation

Advertiser Staff

A California tourist who died July 6 after he allegedly stole beer from a Waikiki convenience store and was subdued by two people died of asphyxiation, the city medical examiner's office said.

Humberto Murillo, 33, of San Fernando, Calif., allegedly took two 12-packs of beer without paying for them from an ABC Store at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa July 6. Murillo died after a struggle with the store manager and a tourist who came to the manager's aid.

An autopsy on Murillo determined that he died of "mechanical asphyxia" and the manner of death has been classified as a homicide, the medical examiner's office said.

Witness accounts of the struggle vary, with one group telling investigators that Murillo appeared to be unconscious when the store manager and tourist released their grip on him, and a second group saying that Murillo was talking and responsive after being released to hotel security guards.

City paramedics took Murillo to Straub Clinic and Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.