Honolulu Police last week arrested a 55-year-old man on a work release program for the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend and critically wounding his wife.
Investigators say John Nihipali Sr. his 53-year-old girlfriend to death, stole her vehicle and drove to the home of his estranged wife 20 miles away, where he tried to kill her, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reported.
He has been charged with attempted murder, murder, burglary, and escape and is being held without bond.
Police said they were called to a report of a stabbing at a home in Kapolei Thursday afternoon and found the suspect outside with knife. He came at the office, would not comply with orders to drop the knife, and was tased.
When he fell to the ground, officer arrested him.
Investigators said Nihipali entered the home, where his estranged 53-year-old wife lived, and stabbed her in the neck. A 30-year-old man who also lived at the home intervened, and the woman ran to a neighbors for help. They called 911.
The victim was transported to The Queen’s Medical Center-Punchbowl, and Nihipali was arrested for attempted murder.
Shortly afterward, officers in the McCully neighborhood of Honolulu, more than 20 miles away from Kapolei, responded to a medical call and found another 53-year-old woman dead from multiple stab wounds, including defensive wounds. The Star Advertiser said the woman’s 15-year-old son, who also lived in the apartment, called 911.
Detectives learned that she had a boyfriend who was in a work furlough program from prison and was wearing an ankle monitor, and her family identified him as Nihipali, police said. She had been seen entering the apartment with him Thursday morning, and he was seen leaving alone several hours later. He took the woman’s vehicle, which was found near the home of Nihipali’s estranged wife after the stabbing there.
KHON reported that Nihipali was serving time for assault at the Oahu Community Correctional Center and was out on a resocialization furlough pass when he stabbed the two women. He had been supposed to return to jail that night.
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[Featured image: John Nihipali Sr/Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation]
