Homicide in Waimanalo remains unsolved

Some months before he was killed by a hit-and-run driver, Marc Bucho made an eerie pronouncement.

"If I ever die down here, no matter what you’re told, it’s not an accident," he warned his ex-wife and best friend, Emily.

"He was expressing to me that somebody was out for him," she said Thursday by telephone from eastern Washington state. "He didn’t express in detail who it could be."

But Emily Bucho has a theory. She suspects he owed money to a drug dealer for painkillers he was taking for pancreatitis.

"I think it was a drug dealer that was sending a message," she said. "’If you don’t have the money and don’t pay up, this is what will happen to you.’"

CrimeStoppers and Honolulu police renewed their search this week for witnesses in the case. Bucho was found lying on Kalanianaole Highway near Hilu Street in Waimanalo at about 8 p.m. April 19.

Blunt force injuries caused his death.

A nearby resident told police she saw Bucho lying in the roadway after she heard a loud thud.

There are no leads in the negligent-homicide investigation, said Sgt. Kim Buffett of CrimeStoppers. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.

Bucho was described as a selfless man who would take the shirt off his back to help another. He was also a peacemaker, relieving tense situations with a sharp sense of humor.

Emily Bucho said the pain over Bucho’s death lingers.

"It’s been six months, and still, very often, I cry myself to sleep," she said.

Although they divorced in 2006, the two remained close. Bucho’s ex-wife said they spoke to each other at least once a week, and he called and texted their 16-year-old daughter daily.

"He was always caring and concerned for me," Emily Bucho said.

Bucho, of Homer, Alaska, worked in commercial construction but stopped working due to complications from his illness. He suffered from extreme stomach pains, vomiting and weight loss.

Because he was not working, she said, he was often short of money for his oxycodone or hydrocodone.

"He was in excruciating pain that never went away," she said.

Bucho moved to Hawaii in mid-2000 and lived with an elderly couple in Waimanalo. He then returned to Alaska, where his mother helped care for him.

He returned to Hawaii in December 2012. Emily Bucho said he planned to move to Washington to be close to their daughter when his symptoms were under control.

When asked what she would tell the person or persons responsible for his death, Emily Bucho choked up.

"You have robbed a family of their dreams," she said. "Our daughter will never have a father to watch her graduate, walk her down the aisle or welcome her future children. We will never again hear his laughter or be able to give him one last hug."

She added, "Please don’t rob us of justice, too. I know nothing will bring him back. I just want justice for my daughter."