Maui police arrested a Wailuku couple Wednesday after the man’s 4-year-old son was taken to the hospital with severe internal injuries and died hours later.
Police said the 31-year-old father found his son unresponsive in the shower and brought the boy to Maui Memorial Medical Center about 10:57 p.m. Tuesday.
An initial exam by emergency room doctors found the boy had suffered severe blunt force trauma to his internal organs and died of his injuries, police said.
A Maui coroner’s official said the boy died at the hospital at 4:33 a.m. Wednesday. An autopsy is scheduled for today.
The father and his 27-year-old live-in girlfriend both denied having any knowledge of how the boy was injured, police said.
They turned themselves in at the Wailuku station about 11 a.m. Wednesday and were arrested for investigation of second-degree murder.
The state Department of Human Services also opened an investigation into the death, said department Director Patricia McManaman.
"The Department of Human Services received a report regarding the death of a child, and we have assigned this matter to a (Child Welfare Services) staff member for review and investigation," McManaman said. "We are working with law enforcement at this time to determine whether the cause of the death is related to abuse and neglect."
The number of homicides and possible homicides of young children in Hawaii has declined in recent years.
There were 46 homicides or possible homicides of children ages 5 and under from 1991 to 2000, according to the Department of Health’s Injury Prevention and Control Program.
That number fell by 24 percent to 35 in the years 2001 to 2010.
There were no child homicides or possible homicides in 2010, according to Dan Galanis, an epidemiologist with the Health Department.
One child under 2 years old died of a homicide, and three others also under 2 died of undetermined intent in 2011, the last year data were available.
Earlier this year, 3-year-old Marley Makanani died of brain damage from a near drowning and injuries from abuse.
Makanani was found unconscious at her Waimea home on Hawaii island Jan. 13 and died two days later at an Oahu hospital.
Makanani’s uncle, Ezekiel Wakinekona, was charged with manslaughter in Makanani’s death and two counts of abuse for injuries to Makanani’s sisters, who were 2 and 6 in January. He is being held at the Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
His case had been scheduled to begin this month.
