Multiple fractures noted on remains found on Tantalus

A 39-year-old woman reported missing in November 2015 and whose remains were found five months later on Tantalus had fractures to her neck, chest and face, according to the Honolulu Medical Examiner.

Officials were able to identify the remains as those of Helen Prestosa by comparing them with a medical X-ray.

The man accused of killing Prestosa, 26-year-old Jhun Ley Irorita, is scheduled to stand trial for murder in May. A deputy public defender pleaded not guilty on Irorita’s behalf at his arraignment Monday in state Circuit Court.

Irorita appeared by closed-circuit television from Oahu Community Correctional Center in a wheelchair with his arms bandaged.

Toni Schwartz, state Department of Public Safety spokeswoman, declined to provide details on Irorita’s injuries, citing laws relating to confidentiality of a patient’s medical records. She said he sustained the injuries over the weekend. Foul play was not involved.

Irorita remains in custody in lieu of $500,000 bail. He is also serving a one-year jail term for harassment.

An Oahu grand jury returned an indictment last week charging him with Prestosa’s murder.

The Medical Examiner lists Prestosa’s date of death as April 17, 2016. That’s when volunteers picking up trash discovered her remains in some brush at the bottom of a steep slope.

Honolulu police also found items there that belonged to Prestosa, including a shoe, a cellphone cover and a remote control device from her home.

Prestosa was reported missing Nov. 20, 2015, when she failed to show up for work as a manager at the Jack in the Box restaurant on School Street in Kalihi. Honolulu police said she was last seen at about 7 p.m. the day before.

Irorita lived in a home on Rose Street, within walking distance of the restaurant.

Police in January 2016 classified the case as a murder and arrested Irorita. They later released him without charges, then rearrested him for an unrelated protective order violation.

Irorita pleaded guilty in June to harassment and was sentenced to a year in jail. He also has convictions for theft and criminal property damage.