Background: News footage of one of the scenes where John Nihipali allegedly stabbed a woman (KHON). Inset: John Nihipali (Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation).
A Hawaii man who allegedly left his work furlough program to stab his girlfriend and estranged wife is back in custody.
John Nihipali, 55, was charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder after police said he stabbed his 53-year-old estranged wife and his 53-year-old girlfriend, who died following the attack. In a press release after Nihipali”s arrest on Friday, the Honolulu Police Department said that while investigating the two stabbings, which took place in two different towns, they determined that the victims both had relationships with the same man.
According to reporting by local Fox affiliate KHON, the Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed that Nihipali was an inmate at the Oahu Community Correctional Center, where he was serving a sentence for second-degree assault. At the time of the alleged stabbing attacks, Nihipali was taking part in a work release program and was out on a resocialization furlough pass.
Honolulu police said they arrested Nihipali outside the Kapolei, Hawaii, home of his estranged wife after receiving reports of a stabbing on Friday at 4:15 p.m. Police said Nihipali had to be subdued before being taken into custody. While investigating the incident, police determined that the woman at the Kapolei home had been stabbed in the neck by Nihipali, who was interrupted by a unnamed 30-year-old man. Nihipali’s estranged wife was able to escape and call 911.
Just over an hour later, at 5:30 p.m., police received a call about an unresponsive woman in a home in McCully, Hawaii. After police initially reported the incident as an unattended death, they found several stab wounds including defensive wounds on the woman’s hands. Investigators determined that the woman’s boyfriend was part of a furlough program and was wearing an ankle monitor.
Police found the girlfriend’s vehicle at the home of Nihipali’s estranged wife. Police said Surveillance cameras showed Nihipali entering his girlfriend’s home in McCully just after 10:30 a.m. the same morning and leaving around 2:45 p.m. He then allegedly took his girlfriend’s vehicle to drive to his estranged wife’s house in Kapolei, where he arrived around 4 p.m.
HPD homicide Lt. Deena Thoemmes said during a press conference Friday that Nihipali’s estranged wife was still hospitalized but improving.
KHON reported that Nihipali was serving a 25-year sentence for second-degree assault; the victim in that case was his estranged wife.
Nihipali was charged on Saturday with attempted first-degree murder, second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, burglary, and escape. He is in custody and being held without bail. His next court date was not made available.
