suspect in Waikiki dumpster murder case. HPD mug
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A woman whose body was found in a Waikiki trash bin last week died of asphyxiation and was the victim of a homicide, a city medical examiner said Friday morning.
Dr. Masahiko Kobayashi, deputy medical examiner, said 51-year-old Janine U. Meyer died of asphyxiation due to various causes.
Honolulu police, meanwhile, are still holding a man at Honolulu Police Department headquarters in connection with Meyer’s death.
Joseph M. Kahawai, 42, has been in police custody and appeared in court on a separate case on a terroristic threatening charge Thursday before being arrested on suspicion of murder in the afternoon, police said. No charges have been filed against Kahawai involving Meyer’s death.
Meyer’s body was found on the morning of Oct. 29 in a trash bin near the Hawaiian Colony apartments off Ala Moana Boulevard.
Police originally classified the incident as an unattended death but reclassified the case to a murder investigation Thursday.
Police have not explained what led them to reclassify the case or to suspect Kahawai.
Kahawai was in Honolulu District Court on Monday in connection with the terroristic threatening case involving someone else.
According to a court filing, on Oct. 20, Kahawai threatened bodily harm to another man. He was arrested at a Waipahu address Monday afternoon and subsequently charged with second-degree terroristic threatening in that case.