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08-06-19 Suspects charged in the 2018 Halloween murder (Update) (Photo Correction)

Hawaiʻi Police Department
Criminal Investigations Division, Area II
Captain Reed K. Mahuna
Phone: (808) 326-4646 ext. 263
Report Number 18-012802

 

Media Release (Update)

Hawaiʻi Police charged two suspects yesterday (August 5) for the 2018 murder of a 6-year-old boy on Halloween night.

On (October 31, 2018), at about 4:20 p.m., Kona patrol officers responded to a call at the Kailua Fire Station involving a 6-year-old boy, who had been transported there while unconscious, by a family member.

The child was reportedly involved in an incident at an apartment complex in the 74-900 block of Manawalea Street in Kailua-Kona.

  The child was transported from the Kailua Fire Station to the Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at approximately 5:30 p.m.

Injuries sustained by the child were not consistent with those from an accident. The child has now been identified as Mazen Kaniela Nihipali-Moniz a 6-year-old boy of Kailua-Kona.

Detectives from the Area II Criminal Investigations Section continued this investigation and with the assistance of the Hawaii County Prosecutor’s office secured a grand jury indictment on two suspects’ late last month. This indictment had been under seal until today.

Yesterday, (August 5) the two suspects, in this case, were arrested. They are identified as Ashley Rose Nihipali, a 34-year-old female and Kuuipo Leinaala Nihipali, a 32-year-old female both of Hawaiian Paradise Park. Ashely Rose Nihipali has been charged with Murder in the second-degree, six counts of felony abuse of a family or household member, tampering with physical evidence and two counts of Terroristic threatening in the first-degree. Kuuipo Leinaala Nihipali has been charged with two counts of Murder in the second-degree, six counts of felony abuse of a family or household member, hindering prosecution in the first-degree, tampering with physical evidence and two counts of terroristic threatening in the first-degree. Their bail was set at $1,000,000 each.