‘Peter Boy’s’ mom may have to return to jail for violations

The mother of Peter “Peter Boy” Kema Jr. may be back in jail for violating conditions of her HOPE probation Friday for failing to appear for a random drug testing.

Jaylin Kema is scheduled to appear Wednesday in Third Circuit Court in Hilo on a motion for sanctions.

On Monday she was due back in court on a motion to revoke her probation.

Kema failed to report in time and might face additional sanctions, which could mean additional jail time, said Deputy Prosecutor Rick Damerville.

Regarding HOPE (Hawaii’s Opportunity With Probation Enforcement), if a person’s behavior doesn’t change, the judge can decide that this program is not right for the individual, and the person eventually could go to prison, he said.

Kema was sentenced June 13 to a year in jail but was given credit for time served, and also was sentenced to 10 years’ probation.

She pleaded guilty in December 2016 to manslaughter in the death of her 6-year-old son Peter Boy. The lenient sentence was in exchange for her agreement to testify against her husband, Peter Kema Sr., who also pleaded to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

They were charged in 2015 with second-degree murder. The couple lied to the public about Peter Boy’s whereabouts for nearly 20 years.

He had been physically abused since the time he was an infant, chained up and given inferior food. His parents failed to seek medical help when he had a gaping wound on his arm, which led to his death.

His father admitted to trying to burn the boy’s body, then placing it in a box and throwing it into the ocean.

After repeated violations of probation, she received another one-year sentence and has gone to jail for a few days on that new sentence.