An Oahu Circuit Court jury on Friday found a 23-year-old Waikiki man guilty of second-degree murder in the 2021 stabbing death of a 19-year-old California visitor during an affray at Kuhio Beach Park.
The jury rejected Oscar Cardona Jr.’s claim of self- defense. He testified that he held out his knife but did not stab Elian Delacerda five times. Instead, he said Delacerda was attacking him and may have stabbed himself.
The Medical Examiner’s Office said the cause of death was a stab wound to the heart.
Cardona was taken into custody after the verdict was rendered and is being held at the Oahu Community Correctional Center. He had been out on $500,000 bail in this case, and on $11,000 bail in a separate drug case.
He faces a mandatory sentence of life with the possibility of parole when he is sentenced Dec. 13 by Judge Kevin Morikone.
“The public will be protected from Cardona’s violent behavior for many years to come,” Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm said. “I commend HPD for its work investigating this case and thank the jury for its service.”
Jurors were not told that the state is alleging that on the day of the stabbing on June 1, 2021, Cardona was in possession of cocaine and marijuana. Trial in that case is set for Sept. 19.
Cardona claimed he was at the scene of the stabbing to defuse a situation involving his roommate, but Deputy Prosecutor Don Paccaro said he was the only one with a weapon.
Cardona’s roommate, Elijah Horn, encountered visitors from California who began calling him names in front of women he had met at the beach. He called Cardona, who arrived with a gold knife he carried in the pouch of his bicycle.
Fistfighting erupted between Delacerda and a friend of his, and Horn and Cardona. The stabbing occurred at 12:40 a.m.
The incident was caught on videotape, and jurors were able to watch much of it, as well as Cardona’s behavior after the stabbing.
