The chain-link fence near the blue house in Waimanalo where 6-year-old Isabella Kalua, born Ariel Sellers, lived and where authorities say she died last year after repeated abuse, was once a growing memorial covered with stuffed animals, flowers, balloons and signs for months after her disappearance.
The remnants of the memorial still remind people who pass the corner of Kakaina and Hihimanu streets of the horrific atrocities her adoptive parents are accused of committing in that house.
The four-bedroom, three- bathroom house at 41-610 Puha St., which is listed for sale at $625,000, has been
on the market since June 13 and is now in escrow.
Isabella’s adoptive father Isaac “Sonny” Kalua III had the house built in 2017 on Department of Hawaiian Home Lands land, so the purchaser must be Native Hawaiian to qualify and likely knows the home’s
history.
Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 508D requires the seller of a residential property to disclose any material facts that would affect a buyer’s decision to move forward with the purchase, and real estate agent Denise Nakanishi said a homicide would fall into that category.
Some neighbors wondered what would become of the property, which became the focus of an investigation into finding the little girl’s body after the Kaluas were taken into custody.
Honolulu police and FBI agents scoured the property for clues, using tools to mark and excavate the yard. FBI personnel opened manhole covers on the street and sidewalks surrounding the property as well.
But it is unclear what, if anything, the FBI found since information was never released to the public.
Isaac Kalua, doing business as Sonny K. Enterprises, declared Chapter 13 bankruptcy July 17, 2020, because of debts totalling more than $476,738. A mortgage adjustment that started Nov. 1, 2021, just before his indictment, was meant to save the house.
Kalua and his wife, Lehua, were indicted Nov. 17 for the 6-year-old’s murder, abuse
of both Isabella and her 12-year-old sister, persistent nonsupport, hindering prosecution, abuse and endangering the welfare of a minor.
Isabella was allegedly kept in a dog cage and denied food, and Lehua Kalua is accused of duct-taping the child’s mouth and nose, causing her death, court documents said.
The Kaluas are scheduled for trial Sept. 26.
