Makiki stabbing victim dies, husband arrested

Police arrested a 41-year-old man after he allegedly fatally stabbed his wife in Makiki late Tuesday.

The stabbing occurred at apartment 605 at Pacificana Apartments, 1125 Young St., across from Walgreens.

Though the victim’s name hasn’t been released by the Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office, a neighbor identified her as Meriam Carcamo, 42.

Homicide Lt. Philip Lavarias of the Honolulu Police Department said the suspect, identified in a police arrest log as Marcelo A. Carcamo-Lopez, who is also known as Marcelo A. Carcamo, got into a domestic dispute with his wife before 10:50 p.m. Tuesday. The argument escalated and he allegedly stabbed her multiple times with a knife and fled.

Neighbor Maka Rivera, who resides in a fifth-floor unit directly below apartment 605, said he heard the couple arguing when he arrived home at about 10:45 p.m.

He said he then heard the sound of a woman’s voice yell “help me!” and sounds of people running within the one-bedroom apartment. Soon after, Rivera said he heard someone provide the address of the building, possibly to a 911 dispatcher.

A minor believed to be the victim’s teenage son from a previous relationship found her with stab wounds to the upper part of her body.

From the fifth-floor balcony, Rivera said he saw paramedics administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation to Meriam Carcamo while she was on a gurney as they brought her out of the building and into an ambulance.

Emergency Medical Services transported her in critical condition to a trauma hospital, where she died.

At about 11:15 p.m., Lavarias said police were at the apartment building investigating the stabbing when they spotted Carcamo-Lopez driving a sedan and about to enter the building’s parking garage.

Police stopped him in front of the building and arrested him on suspicion of attempted second-degree murder. The offense was reclassified to second-degree murder when his wife was pronounced dead.

Rivera said Carcamo- Lopez lived in the apartment with his wife and her teenage son for about two years. According to state records, the couple was married for almost three years.

“It’s so sad. They seem like a nice couple,” Rivera said.

He noted he rarely saw Meriam Carcamo or her teenage son. “They just kept to themselves.”

Meriam Carcamo worked as a sales associate at an ABC store in Waikiki. Spokesman Neil Ishida extended condolences to her family and declined further comment.

In May 2011, Carcamo- Lopez, who was living in Pearl City at the time, was charged under the name Marcelo Carcamo with abuse of a family or household member involving another woman.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge in Family Court. Records indicate the case was dismissed in September after the victim failed to appear in court.