Hawai‘i Police Department
Criminal Investigation Division – Area I
Lieutenant Rio S. Amon-Wilkins
Phone: (808) 961-2252
Report No.: 21-055879
Media Release
Hawai‘i Island police have charged 39-year-old Frank William Funes with the attempted murder of his former long-term girlfriend. The incident occurred in Pahoa on Thursday night, July 8, 2021.
At 1:50 p.m. Saturday, July 10, after conferring with county prosecutors, Area I Juvenile Aid Section detectives charged Funes with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree burglary, and abuse of a family or household member.
Funes remains in police custody in lieu of $527,000 bail, pending his initial court appearance scheduled for Monday afternoon, July 12, in South Hilo District Court.
On Thursday night, July 8, shortly before 10:15 p.m. Puna patrol officers responded to a reported stabbing at a residence on Opae Street in the Hawaiian Beaches subdivision of Pahoa. While en route to the scene, additional information was relayed to responding officers that the suspect had left the residence in a Mazda multipurpose vehicle. Officers located the vehicle driving up Kahakai Boulevard, and initiated a traffic stop. Funes was identified as the operator of the Mazda, and was detained while additional officers responded to the scene to investigate.
At the scene, officers contacted a 39-year-old female with multiple stab wounds to her upper body. She was transported via ambulance to the Hilo Medical Center emergency room, in critical condition. The victim, and the couple’s teenage son who was present during this incident, both identified Funes as the suspect. He was then arrested and transported to the police station for processing.
During the course of this investigation, detectives learned that Funes no longer lived at the residence, and had unlawfully entered through a window, entered the victim’s bedroom, and began stabbing her with a large knife while she lay in bed.
Detectives obtained search warrants to process the residence and the vehicle that Funes was operating.
The victim remains hospitalized in stable condition.