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An 18-year-old Kaimuki teenager charged with stabbing a Kalani High School classmate last year will appear today in Honolulu District Court for a preliminary hearing on an attempted murder charge.
Zoe Michael Espinola is charged with second-degree attempted murder, accused of repeatedly stabbing a 16-year-old classmate with a 12-inch knife in a fight in a mathematics classroom.
The victim suffered two lacerations on his forehead — one measuring 4 inches — and another 3-inch cut on his body, according to court documents.
On Monday, Family Court Judge Mark Browning waived jurisdiction over Espinola, who was 17 at the time of the fight, May 18. He will be tried as an adult.
Court documents say Espinola entered the classroom at 9 a.m. and asked the teacher if the victim was his student. He left, then returned with a knife and walked to the victim who sat in the rear of the classroom.
He is accused of attacking the victim with the knife, hitting him in the face, head and body.
The victim, unaware he had been injured, wrestled Espinola to the ground as Espinola kept swinging the knife at him.
The teacher stepped in and separated the two, taking the knife away before Espinola left the classroom.
Last year, students described the two students as best friends and members of the swim team and said the stabbing was possibly due to a dispute about a girl.
Police arrested Espinola on Monday at Oahu Community Correctional Center, where he was already being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.
