Man charged in fatal stabbing of landlord on Kauai

A 62-year-old Omao man has been charged in the stabbing death of his 67-year-old landlord in Koloa, Kauai.

Peter D. Grewer is scheduled to appear at his preliminary hearing at 5th Circuit Court today after he was charged last week with second-degree murder in the death of Joellen “Jodi” Hartman. He remains in custody in lieu of $1 million bail.

Hartman had evicted Grewer at the time of the fatal stabbing. Grewer was ordered to leave her property by Tuesday.

Hartman had worked with the state Department of Education for 20 years before she retired in 2014. In a emailed statement, Kauai Complex Area Superintendent William Arakaki said, “Our thoughts and deepest sympathy goes out to her family, relatives, friends and colleagues during this tragic and difficult time.”

At about 4:05 p.m. June 19, police conducted a welfare check on Hartman at her Omao home at 4475 Punee Road. Officers found her unresponsive on a wheelchair in her living room with a large wound on the left side of her neck and blood all over her body, according to a court document.

Police said she had nine stab wounds to her neck.

Officers also observed a shirtless man wearing shorts at a separate dwelling on the property. Police said officers observed scratch marks on his chest. The court document said the man, identified as Grewer, told police he sustained the scratches after he climbed a fence at or near Walmart a couple of days earlier. One of the responding officers said the scratches were “fresh and were consistent with fingernail scratches.”

Grewer told police he last saw Hartman at court in Lihue between 8 and 11 a.m. June 18 because she filed a complaint to evict him. He also told officers he didn’t have a key to her house but had permission to use her car, a 2003 Honda CRV.

Police searched his residence and found a pair of shorts on the kitchen floor with bloodstains. Officers also observed a set of keys on the couch. One of the keys opened the front door of Hartman’s residence, and a remote key belonged to Hartman’s vehicle.

Officers continued their search within his residence and found an eviction notice to Grewer from Hartman within a calendar pinned to a wall.

Police contacted Hartman’s daughter over the phone, and she forwarded detectives emails her mother had sent her shortly after 11:05 a.m. June 19.

Hartman wrote to her daughter that Grewer threatened her in front of others while she waited in front of court. She indicated a judge granted her an eviction notice and that Grewer was ordered to leave the property by Tuesday. In the same email Hartman further wrote that she had yet to decide whether to take him to court concerning $3,350 in back rent owed to her.

Police arrested Grewer on suspicion of second-degree murder.