Hawaiʻi Police Department
Criminal Investigations Division
Captain Robert Wagner
Phone: 961-2251
Report No. C16012360
Media Release (update)
An autopsy is scheduled for today (May 6) on the bodies of three persons found early this morning in Puna.
At approximately 1:30 a.m. Friday (May 6), officers responded to a call about a disturbance at a home on Moku Street in the Leilani Estates subdivision. Upon arrival, they observed a man exiting the house and driving from the scene in a car with no lights on.
Officers made a traffic stop on the car and observed a firearm on the front seat. They arrested the driver and then observed what appeared to be blood dripping from the trunk of the car. The trunk was opened, exposing a deceased woman inside.
Checks at the home of the reported disturbance revealed the bodies of a male minor and a female minor.
The victims have not been positively identified.
The driver of the car, 49-year-old John Ali Hoffman of Leilani Estates, was arrested on suspicion of three counts of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree murder and a firearms offense. He is being held in the Hilo police cellblock while detectives from the Area I Criminal Investigations Division continue the investigation.
Police ask anyone with information about this case to call the Police Department’s non-emergency line at 935-3311 or contact Detective Scott Amaral at 961-2276 or scott.amaral@hawaiicounty.gov.
Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the islandwide Crime Stoppers number at 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers doesn’t record calls or subscribe to caller ID. Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.
