HONOLULU (KHON2) — Honolulu police confirm they are investigating a homicide at a home on Lelekepue Place in Hawaii Loa Ridge involving a 73-year-old victim, and a 23-year-old suspect who HPD says were in an intimate relationship.
Police were sent to the home around 10:30 a.m. Monday on a report of a missing person.
“Yesterday we saw an officer right over there looking in the grass and investigating so we thought there was a robbery or something,” Hawaii Loa resident Sydney Holst said.
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Later in the afternoon, missing persons detectives returned to the scene where they met with a 23-year-old man who said he resided at the home and who was later confirmed to have had an intimate relationship with the missing person.
“It didn’t appear suspicious at that time,” Lt. Deena Thoemmes of HPD said. “Missing persons detectives notified and responded to the scene to continue the investigation.”
Through investigation, a standalone tub was observed filled with a concrete mix. A body, which HPD believes to be the victim, was later located in a state of decomposition within the mix.
“The smell of the decomposition was when we started to chip away at the tub,” Thoemmes said.
The 23-year-old male left the residence with a 34-year-old male by the time the victim was found. HPD confirmed they are suspects in the case.
Both men were last seen in Waikiki Tuesday at around 1 a.m.
Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the suspects is asked to call police or CrimeStoppers.
HPD has not released the name of the victim. According to Lt. Thoemmes, an autopsy will be conducted Wednesday to determine the cause of death.
