Hawaii man charged with murder in killings of three elderly men

Police in Hawaii have charged 36-year-old Jacob Daniel Baker of Pāhoa with murder and other offenses after the killings of three elderly men in the remote Puna district, a stretch of the Big Island where long distances, sparse housing and limited visibility can leave residents vulnerable. The victims were all older men, two age 69 and one age 79.

Investigators said the first body was found Monday, May 25, at 7:59 p.m., partially submerged in a cement pond on Railroad Avenue in Pāhoa. The second was found at 12:39 p.m. Tuesday, May 26, on Papaya Farms Road, about 400 to 500 feet away. The third was discovered at 9:58 p.m. Tuesday on Kalapana Kapoho Beach Road during a welfare check. Autopsies showed the first victim died by strangulation, the second by blunt force trauma and the third by sharp force trauma.

Police later identified two of the men as Robert Shine, 69, and John Carse, 69, both of Pāhoa. The 79-year-old victim had earlier been identified as Chitta Morse, also of Pāhoa. Investigators said the only known connection between the first two victims was that they lived near one another, and they have not identified a motive.

Baker was arrested Thursday, May 28, at 2:38 p.m. in the Kaimu/Kalapana area after a multi-agency search that involved county, state and federal authorities, including the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Marshals Office. Police said he was considered armed and extremely dangerous before his arrest. Surveillance video and witness reports placed him in the area, and public tips helped officers track him to a small cave on neighboring property.

The case drew unusual attention on Hawaii Island, the largest in the Hawaiian chain with more than 4,000 square miles of land. Triple homicides are rare there; local reporting said the last comparable case was on May 6, 2016. The killings also underscored how isolated older residents can be in rural communities, where welfare checks may be one of the few safety nets available after neighbors or family lose contact.

The timing of the violence raised further concern. Two women had sought temporary restraining orders against Baker just days before the killings, saying he threatened and harassed them at a farm, but a judge denied both petitions for insufficient evidence. Police Chief Reed Mahuna and Mayor Kimo Alameda later expressed condolences to the victims’ families as officers urged residents to stay vigilant while the search was underway.