A man who allegedly stabbed two women, one fatally, on Thursday is in police custody.
The Honolulu Police Department announced Friday that officers apprehended an unidentified 55-year-old man at a Kapolei residence Thursday afternoon after he reportedly stabbed two 53-year-old women at two separate locations.
Police Lt. Deena Thoemmes of HPD’s Criminal Investigation Division said Friday that officers first responded to a report of a stabbing at about 4:15 p.m. on Keali‘iahonui Street in Kapolei. Upon arrival, the officers encountered a man outside the residence brandishing a knife.
The armed man — whose identity is being withheld pending further charges — approached the officers and refused to comply with commands to halt or drop his weapon, leading the officers to subdue him with a “conducted electrical weapon,” which Thoemmes said was similar to, but not actually, a Taser.
After disarming and arresting the man, officers determined that he had entered the residence of his estranged wife and stabbed her in the neck. The woman’s adult son intervened, allowing the victim to flee to a neighbor’s residence and ask them to call the police.
Thoemmes said the victim is at The Queen’s Medical Center and is “doing better.”
Shortly after, at about 5:30 p.m., officers responded to a seemingly unrelated medical call on Fern Street in McCully, where another 53-year-old woman was found unresponsive. Upon investigation, detectives discovered the deceased woman had suffered multiple stab wounds and defensive injuries, leading them to classify the investigation as a homicide.
Detectives eventually pieced together that the two victims had been attacked by the same man, who was the estranged husband of the Kapolei victim and the boyfriend of the deceased victim.
The man had reportedly entered the Fern Street apartment, accompanied by the victim, around 10:30 a.m. and left alone at around 2:45 p.m. He then used the dead victim’s vehicle to travel to Kapolei, arriving around 4 p.m., where he then attacked his estranged wife.
Thoemmes said the alleged perpetrator had two prior felony convictions for manslaughter and sexual assault. At the time of the attacks on Thursday, he was enrolled in a work furlough program and was wearing a court-ordered ankle monitor.
The suspect will be charged with second-degree murder, Thoemmes said.
The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the police either via 911 or the CrimeStoppers tip line at 808-955-8300.
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