Man, 59, beaten to death in parking lot in Mililani

Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying suspects or witnesses in connection with the fatal assault of a 59-year-old man Sunday in Mililani Mauka.

Police said the victim, Martin Luippold, was assaulted at about 10:30 p.m. Sunday at Gateway at Mili- lani Mauka, a shopping center on Meheula Parkway.

Police said Luippold, of Mililani, was taken with head injuries to a hospital and died several hours later.

An Emergency Medical Services spokeswoman said paramedics responded to an area near Wingstop restaurant and took Luippold in critical condition to a hospital.

The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s office said Luippold’s cause of death was pending.

Taylor Ayau, a Wingstop employee, said she noticed ambulance lights after the dinner rush Sunday and later learned a man had been found with injuries in the far corner of the parking lot. Another employee told her a large amount of blood was on the ground from the incident.

Police reported the incident to the media for the first time Thursday in a CrimeStoppers notice asking for the public’s help.

A police spokeswoman explained the delay by saying officers initially opened an “injured cared for” investigation. She said it was a type of investigation for an injured person found unresponsive. The case was later changed to a murder investigation.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME from a cellphone.