Hawaii Island police investigate homicide after woman found dead in Hilo
A Parks Division employee found the woman unresponsive on Piopio Street, setting off a homicide probe in the Wailoa area as Hilo was already on edge.
Hawaii Island police opened a homicide investigation in Hilo after a woman was found dead on Piopio Street, steps from the Wailoa Art Center and the Wailoa River State Recreation Area, in a part of town many residents pass through daily.
South Hilo patrol officers were dispatched at 8:01 a.m. after a State of Hawaii Parks Division employee found the unresponsive woman. Police said she was not breathing and had injuries to her head and face consistent with a physical assault. She was taken to Hilo Benioff Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 8:38 a.m.
Detectives from the Area I Criminal Investigation Section took over the case, which remained active and ongoing. An autopsy was scheduled for Friday, May 29, to determine the exact cause of death. Police asked anyone with information, including witnesses who may have been in the Piopio Street area, to contact Detective Sybastian Keltner or Crime Stoppers, which can accept anonymous tips and may offer a reward.
The location added to the unease. Piopio Street leads off Pauahi Street into the Hāmākua-side of the recreation area, near the Wailoa Art Center and Hawaii Veterans Memorial. That means the investigation unfolded in one of Hilo’s more visible public spaces, not in an isolated neighborhood. For park users, nearby workers and businesses, the scene raised immediate concerns about safety in an area that is usually associated with recreation, cultural programming and civic visits.
Police also said there was no indication at that time that the Hilo homicide was connected to the three Puna homicides that had already drawn islandwide attention. That distinction mattered in a week when Hawaii Island was already tense. Later that afternoon, police apprehended 36-year-old Jacob Daniel Baker of Pāhoa at 2:38 p.m. in connection with the Puna killings after an extensive search. Earlier, police had described Baker as armed and extremely dangerous during the manhunt.
The Hilo case also came against a backdrop of other recent violence and police activity in the same corridor. On Jan. 29, officers investigated a fatal collision on Pauahi Street near Piopio Street. On May 15, police said Michael Alan Torres Jr., 57, died after an assault in Hilo and the case was reclassified as second-degree murder. Hawaii Island police also note that their crime-map data are a dynamic snapshot that can change day to day as cases are reclassified, a reminder that early details can shift as investigators gather evidence.
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