Reportedly distraught man dies in plunge from Moiliili building

A man who fell to his death from a Moiliili apartment building Tuesday night was the father of a 3-year-old boy who had fallen to his death from the same building seven years earlier, a neighbor and a building worker said.

Neighbors identified the man as "Eddie," whose full name was Edward Reiser, according to news reports about his son’s death in 2004.

Tuesday’s incident happened on the eighth floor of Hono Hale Towers at 2648 Kuilei St., neighbors said.

According to police, officers responded Tuesday night to reports that a man was distraught, acting disorderly and damaging property. When officers arrived, the man jumped out of his apartment window onto a ledge and ran along the ledge to the balcony of another apartment.

The man threatened the officers with an unspecified weapon and climbed to the outside of the balcony railing, police said. Officers tried to pull the man back to safety, but he shook them off and fell several floors. Paramedics pronounced him dead at 11:28 p.m., police said.

Reiser’s son, Edward III, died Nov. 20, 2004. Reiser, a math professor at the time, said in news reports that he had locked his son in the apartment to discipline him while he stood outside the front door. When Reiser went to check on the boy a few minutes later, he saw his son on the second level of the parking garage. The boy was Reiser’s only son.

Ralph Hayashida, who lives next door to Reiser, said the boy’s mother left soon afterward, but Reiser stayed because he owned the apartment. Hayashida said Reiser was a good father, but changed after his son’s death. Reiser, 52, seemed to behave more erratically recently, telling neighbors a few days ago that he wanted to start a fire, Hayashida said.

Noel Patricio, a maintenance worker at the building, said Eddie was a good person.

"He thinks of his son every day, every hour," Patricio said. "Every time I see him, he shows me pictures of his son."

Patricio said Reiser often asked him whether he, Reiser, was to blame for his son’s death.

"I just encouraged him to think positively, not blaming anyone," Patricio said. "I know he’s so happy right now because he’s with his son."