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A 25-year-old man sought by police as a suspect in the killing of a 39-year-old Kalihi woman missing since November was arrested Monday night in Waipahu.
Jhun Ley Irorita was arrested at 11:04 p.m. at a Waipahu home on suspicion of second-degree murder and resisting arrest.
No charges have been filed, and he is being held at the main police station while the investigation continues.
On Monday police issued a CrimeStoppers bulletin identifying Irorita as the suspect in the death of Helen Prestosa, who was last seen at about 7 p.m. Nov. 19 in Kalihi.
Prestosa was initially reported as a missing person, but police received new information and reclassified the case as a second-degree murder.
Sgt. Kim Buffett declined to say whether police have recovered Prestosa’s body but said detectives need to talk to Irorita, who is a suspect in the case.
Irorita has a criminal record with convictions for four misdemeanors and two petty misdemeanor crimes.
Irorita was convicted of fourth-degree theft, a petty misdemeanor, on Dec. 28 and served two days in prison. He was due back in court next month for a restitution hearing involving the theft conviction.
Prestosa was a manager at a Jack in the Box restaurant when she was reported missing in November.
Prestosa, who had been battling bone cancer, was last seen in Kalihi. Her family, concerned about her health because she needed medication, reported her missing the following day after she failed to show up for work in the morning at the Kalihi restaurant, and the police issued a missing-person bulletin.
A family member said she had never heard of Irorita before police named him as the suspect.
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