Hawai‘i Police Department
Area I Juvenile Aid Section
Lieutenant Robert P. Pauole
Phone: (808) 961-2254
Report No.: 24-014502
Media Release
Hawai‘i Island police have arrested and charged 41-year-old Holly Kaleki White, of Kea‘au, with domestic related offenses following an incident in Pāpa‘ikou on Monday morning, February 12, 2024.
At 10:36 a.m., Hilo patrol officers responded to a welfare check call from a witness who reported observing a woman striking two young boys and placing one of the boys in a headlock while near Mill Road in Pāpa‘ikou. The witness intervened by placing himself between the woman and the two children until police arrived.
The boys, ages 11 and nine, were placed in protective custody for their safety, and White, who was determined to be their mother, was arrested for abuse family household member.
White allegedly struck both boys in the head with open-handed slaps and struck their heads with a slipper. The older brother was placed in a headlock around his facial area, causing visible injury. The boys did not require medical attention. Child Welfare Services later placed them back with their legal guardian.
On Tuesday afternoon, February 13, after conferring with the County Prosecutor’s Office, detectives from the Area I Juvenile Aid Section charged White with the following offenses:
- Abuse family household member
- Abuse family household member (strangulation)
- Two counts of abuse family household member (in the presence of a minor)
Her bail was set at $65,000.
White’s initial court appearance was Wednesday, February 14, in Hilo District Court, where her bail was maintained. She remains incarcerated at the Hawai’i Community Correctional Center in Hilo, pending a preliminary hearing.
Police ask anyone who may have witnessed this incident to contact Detective Kelsey Kobayashi of the Area I Juvenile Aid Section, at (808) 961-8883, or via email at kelsey.kobayashi@hawaiicounty.gov.
