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Teen charged with murder in beating death at Maui park

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WAILUKU >> A Maui teenager suspected of beating a Kihei man who died has been charged with second-degree murder.

Bail has been set at $500,000 for Kaniela Dutro, 18, who was charged Friday in the death of Michael Phillip Gray, 44, the Maui News  reported.

Dutro was 17 when Gray died.

He was taken into custody in March, and after being waived to adult status, charged Friday as an adult.

Maui County police from Kihei on March 15 were responding to another incident when they were flagged down by a man reporting a fight at Kalama Park.

Officers found Gray, also known as “Smiley,” bleeding and unconscious on the ground near the oceanside pavilion and the skating park.

His property had been scattered near the pavilion. Police found a broken fishing pole that they concluded might have been used as a weapon.

Gray was transported to Maui Memorial Medical Center. He was diagnosed with a depressed skull fracture, intercranial bleeding, a fractured orbital bone, fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, and numerous cuts and bruises. He died on April 11, police said.

Dutro and a 15-year-old boy were taken into custody. An 18-year-old Kihei man also was arrested and eventually released.

The 15-year-old remains in a juvenile detention facility and is under Family Court jurisdiction, according to police.

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