Facebook Pixel

Hawaii Cold Cases

Stay on top of all things cold cases, advocacy, and true crime with our twice per week newsletter

Hawaii Murders

As can be expected, the number of murders in Hawaii by year consistently changes. You can find statistics regarding crime data for Hawaii on multiple law enforcement agencies’ websites, both federal and local, which usually offer crime reports and statistics on their websites. Additionally, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) releases a Uniform Crime Report every year which shows, in detail, the crimes, crime rates, and the various locations of crimes that occur in every state as well as most counties and big cities in the United States.

According to Project: Cold Case, there are around 710 unsolved murders in Hawaii, which date from 1980-2019. Looking further into this, the same page on Project: Cold Case’s website shows us that from 1965-2019, there were around 2,073 unsolved murders in Hawaii. Over the years, roughly 1,363 of those murders were solved, leaving around 710 unsolved murders in Hawaii. We can expect that this number will only decline as time passes, but with the rising number of cold cases in the United States, it is unclear how drastically the number of unsolved murders in Hawaii will change over time.

Some of the unsolved murders in northern Hawaii, more specifically in the County of Kaua’i, which is located on the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i, include the 1981 double murder of John and Michelle Klein, the 1983 murder of Keith Williams, the 1992 murder of Joyce Fox, the 2000 murder of Daren Singer, and the 2010 murder of Amber Jackson, among others. Some unsolved central Hawaii murders, more specifically on the islands Maui, Moloka’i, Kaho’olawe, and Lanai, include the 1998 murder of Raymond Ramos, the 2016 murder of Melvin Santos, and the 2017 murder of Mark Swick, among many others. Some unsolved murders in Honolulu, Hawaii, include the 1999 murder of Jubilee Lum, the 1971 murder of Eleanor Brusenbach, the 1986 murder of Gregory Yamada, and the 2002 murder of John Reverio, among others. Lastly, a few of the murders in Hilo County, Hawaii, that remain unsolved include the 2001 murder of Kallen Agliam, the 1987 murder of Lynn Ebisuzaki, and the 1999 murder of Matthew Peak, among others.


Unsolved Hawaii Murders

Currently, there are roughly 710 Hawaii cold cases according to Project: Cold Case’s homicide statistics website. Most of the unsolved murders in Hawaii can be found organized by both state, county, and city law enforcement agencies’ websites, including the Hawaii Police Department’s unsolved cases website.

A few of the many northern Hawaii unsolved murders, more specifically the county of Kaua’i, Hawaii, that are listed on various law enforcement websites include the 1981 double murder of John and Michelle Klein, the 1983 murder of Keith Williams, the 1992 murder of Joyce Fox, the 2000 murder of Daren Singer, and the 2010 murder of Amber Jackson, among many others in the northern Hawaiian islands.

Among the various lists of unsolved murders in Hawaii are the many unsolved murders Honolulu, Hawaii, which include the 1999 murder of Jubilee Lum, the 1971 murder of Eleanor Brusenbach, the 1986 murder of Gregory Yamada, and the 2002 murder of John Reverio, among others solely in Honolulu, the largest city in Hawaii.

In addition, other unsolved murders Hawaii included in the list of cold cases include the many east Hawaii unsolved murders, more specifically the island of Hawai’i, which is the largest island in the group, as well as the island with the highest population. These unsolved murders include the 2001 murder of Kallen Agliam, the 1987 murder of Lynn Ebisuzaki, and the 1999 murder of Matthew Peak, among others.


Joseph Smedley
Joseph SmedleySuspicious Death, 2015
Asha Degree
Asha DegreeMissing, 2000

Consider this

More than 200,000 unsolved cases have gone cold since 1980, and murder clearance rates continue to drop. With equity for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other underserved victims not prioritized in the true crime community—together we can do better.

Famous Hawaii Murders

Although many of the murders, both solved and unsolved, in Hawaii are not considered to be famous Hawaii murders, and most of these names will not sound familiar to most people, a few of the names that can be found on the list of all murders in Hawaii, list of Hawaii murders, and notorious Hawaii criminals have seemingly become household names. The most infamous Hawaii murders that have been solved include the 2006 murder of Sandra Galas and the 1999 Xerox Murders, in which seven people lost their lives, among many others. Quite possibly the most famous Hawaii murder that remains unsolved is the murder of Lisa Au, who was murdered in 1982 on the Kailua island of Hawaii.

A few of Hawaii’s most notorious criminals include Byran Uyegusi, who committed what would later be known as “The Xerox Murders,” when he murdered seven coworkers; and the “Honolulu Strangler,” whose identity remains unknown, who murdered five women from 1985-1986.

Homicide Rate in Hawaii

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR) from 2019, the violent crime rate in Hawaii was around 285.5 per 100,000 inhabitants. In short, this means that in 2019, roughly 286 individuals per 100,000 residents of Hawaii were directly affected by violent crime, which includes rape, sexual assault, assault, robbery, and murder. According to this same report, the homicide rate in Hawaii was around 3.4 per 100,000 residents. In short, this means that in 2019, on average around 3 people per 100,000 residents of Hawaii were murdered.

Honolulu is the capital and most populated city in Hawaii. Honolulu currently has a population of just over 898,000 residents as of this year. In 2018, the violent crime rate in Honolulu, Hawaii, was, on average, around 249.6 per 100,000 residents, and the Honolulu, Hawaii, murders rate in 2018 was around 2.55 per 100,000 residents. Although there is not yet an exact way of knowing how many murders in Hawaii 2021 as well as how many murders in Honolulu, Hawaii, 2021, we do know that based on archived reports, it seems that the homicide rates in both Honolulu and Hawaii as a whole seemingly rise every year.


Hilo County Murders

As of this year, there are currently over 45,000 people living in Hilo County, Hawaii. Although we do not know exactly how many Hilo County murders occurred in past years, based on Uniform Crime Reports released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in recent years focusing on the crime statistics in each county in Hawaii, we can gain a general idea. These reports do not have the crime statistics for Hilo County, but they do include data from the state of Hawaii as a whole. In Hawaii there were 24 murders in 1998, 39 murders in 2017, and 36 murders in 2018. By looking at the difference in homicide rate in Hawaii from 1998 to 2018, it is clear that the number of homicides on the islands of Hawaii is rising every year, in small increments, slowly adding up over time.

In many homicide cases, investigators are able to collect enough Hilo County murders evidence to charge someone with the crime that they committed and bring them to Hilo County murders trial. Evidence that is usually included in Hilo County homicide trials is completely dependent on the crime itself. For example, in a homicide trial, evidence can range anywhere from blood, saliva, or other DNA evidence, to cell phone pings, gunpowder residue, fingerprints, and most often includes Hilo County murders crime scene photos. These photos are most commonly used in court in order to show the jury the environment surrounding the crime scene as well as show every other aspect of the crime itself, as well as the physical evidence located at the scene.


Honolulu, Hawaii Murders

As of this year, Honolulu, Hawaii, has a population of over 898,000 residents, and due to its sheer size and population, Honolulu, Hawaii, murders are much more common than in many other large cities in Hawaii. Many of both the recent and decades-old murders in Honolulu, Hawaii, have not been solved, some of which are even being considered cold cases, and law enforcement continues to investigate their homicides with every resource they have available. As expected, until these murders are solved, Honolulu murders discussion will continue on many different social media platforms such as Facebook, Reddit, and Websleuths, where individuals gather in order to speculate on information regarding Honolulu murders pictures, Honolulu murders crime scene photos, and Honolulu, Hawaii, murders autopsy photos, which are almost always not released even after a case is solved, and in some cases, are never released to the public.

In the past few years, DNA technology, which is improving at an exponential rate, has led to hundreds, if not thousands, of both recent and decades-old cold cases being solved, and cold cases in Hawaii are surely not the exception. A few examples of the many cases where Honolulu murders DNA or DNA from crimes in other parts of Hawaii was used to solve or bring new information or hope to cold cases include the 1982 murder of Kathy Hicks, the 2006 murder of Sandra Galas, and the 2000 murder of Kimberly Belluomini, among others.


Hawaii Serial Killers

Hawaii has dealt with more Hawaii killers than you might initially believe throughout its history. Many famous Hawaii serial killers can easily be found on any top ten or other type of serial killer list. Some of these lists include list of serial killers in Hawaii and Hawaii serial killer list. The most famous of the few known Hawaii serial killers is also known as the most notorious Honolulu, Hawaii, serial killer. The “Honolulu Strangler,” who is also known as “The Honolulu Rapist,” whose identity is still unknown, is believed to have been responsible for the murder of five women in Honolulu, Hawaii, between 1985 and 1986.


Crimes in Hawaii

If you find yourself interested in learning about the statistics surrounding crimes in Hawaii, multiple local and federal law enforcement agencies release annual reports, which can be found on their websites, that show the crimes and the statistics behind them in that area. Also, the Federal Bureau of Investigation releases a Uniform Crime Report every year which shows, in detail, the crimes, crime rates, and locations of crimes in every state, county, and city, including a report for crime in Hawaii.

Unfortunately, it seems as if there may never be an end to the seemingly growing number of Hawaii homicide and true crime stories in Hawaii. According to Project: Cold Case, from 1965-2019 there were roughly 2,073 murders in Hawaii alone. Over the years, roughly 1,363 of those murders were solved, leaving roughly 710 unsolved murders in Hawaii. Despite this number, the many different law enforcement agencies, both on a local and state level, in Hawaii will never stop trying to solve all of Hawaii’s true crimes, and will use every resource they can access to the best of their ability to get the justice that the victims deserve.

Additional Hawaii Cold Cases

Jonathan FraserJubilee LumMark CajskiDaylenn PuaIkaika RiveraMarlo MokuIlya LomovKenneth YoshidaSu Chi LamScott AkinaCarlos CarrilloFumi OyeJesse PinegarRichard ShiromaWilliam StangaCarl StefflerTherese VanderheidenSteven WhiteLucas WolfRobert GallagherThomas HansonJeffrey HendersonGary HoffmanBarry JamesMichael LongRobert RumburgFathi TwalibThomas GatlinDaniel LambertsonRobert LefevreJie LiTimothy LynchClare ManeyDouglas ManteiPriscilla MartinezPeter KemaPatricia LopakaValerie ParkRoseline PawaiMasumi WatanabeGreg FarmerRowan Fehring-DingwallStacey KelekomaHanna WanerskogMichael ElenesHank Roberts SrBritany WolfNoel SantiagoAntonio CastroRichard CoblerCalvin DanianDaniel DesimoneLeonardo DiazAidan DunganChristopher BacsainPerry Bagamaspad, Jr.Michael CannonKimberly CardarellaYayun ChengTini AgatonuRichard AgorDavid AlexSteven BranstonRollin FabianaLauren HanKhiara HenryBenjamin RapozaDaniel ArroyoMichele AdamShirley BrowningRick CalhauValentine Coelho JrDerick EndoDavid GardnerGary HaywardRobert McdonaldJeffery PopaRuben SaenzDaniel SantiagoBetty ShigenoDaniel SmithKenneth AbellBryan AdonaSolomon AkiEddie SeenarineWinston Torres KamaiDaniel ReichNoemi AlcotasMichele HahnYosuke HagaMyron PetersDennis RobertsRandall AdamsNeil FigueroaKyle WongMichael BallesterosIkaika GamponiaJacob NilesCharlotte MoriartyGary OtaMack KilionLawrence KoschoSteven WycoffVictorio SantiagoKimberly JacobsJeffrey ZoltowskiKatherine SchmittlerCharles LocklarRobert SpurlockWilliam OliverRuth MolitoniGregory VoightJohn Harrison IIIStanley ChenEdwin BauerAaron BustamanteBeverly ChandlerAlec CookeMatthew CurleyJohn De MelloJohn EckertMelissa EstoyChang Ho HanJason JeffersLance KaowiliDavid KapuleGordon KealohaKenan KnieriemRoxanne LacsonMatthew LeathersWynn LindseyJohn LucasCharleen MilnerNoah MontemayorMatthew MoribeDayne OrtizClint OshimaSimon OwenKirk PassmoreDavid PukahiRoque RiveraEarl RomanBernadette RosaLoren SalisCristian SedenoBenjamin SjobergGregory StephanoffRoy TakatsukiBradford TurekBobbie VenevongsothRichard VierraLaura VogelMarianne WatersLoida WidemanYorck WoitaRussell YoshidaKon Wai YoungSteven ZieglerRainer KlimekJuan GonzalezRobert ArvinCharles WilsonDhartri HadleySusan ScanlanGilbert CaravalloManuel DuranSequoya VargasAstara EvenstarAlexander GummRichard AinslieRobert AmaralAnnad ArkangelRonald BartelPaul BlackburnSamuel BowerRyan BuckleyEmir Castillo, JrAlan ChapmanJay CochranDavis CortezPiotr DrabikTorry DurrellWilliam ErikssonRichard FelicianoJohn FlavinJoshua GoodwinVladimir HorakTomoko IohDavid JanatkaPatricia KennyAaron LamsonJohn Madigan IIICourtney MarcherDaniel MarksMoreira MonsalveSophie MoonPhillip MountsFrancesca O BrienBilly OliveiraGlenn OyamaRoseanna PontornoTristan PostadanNapoleon RaySean RyanNaomi SandersCarly ScottCharles SlezakJohn SpillaneVladimir SukhoparovMelanie SummerScott VaughanJohn McMinnDarall PascuaMenelek BrownHoward Veillette SrNoquisi-Ama BlossomCordelia McMinnTimothy NoonanCarl RorsteinGlynda EvangelistaMichael Kalla