A 39-year-old woman who works as a behavioral health specialist and senior class adviser at Kahuku High and Intermediate School was arrested on campus Friday and charged with manslaughter for allegedly torturing and neglecting her 11-year-old adopted daughter who died in December 2023.
The victim, Azaeliyah Pili-Ah You, had “multiple injuries from child abuse,” and the manner of her death was homicide, Lt. Deena Thoemmes, head of the Honolulu Police Department’s Strategic Enforcement and Homicide Detail, told reporters Friday at a news conference.
Pili-Ah You had extensive bruising “deep enough to penetrate skin” and reaching her diaphragm, Thoemmes said. The child also had multiple abrasions to her face, head, neck, chest, back, arms, hands and legs.
The girl had wounds consistent with being bitten, internal injuries to her neck “likely from strangulation,” two broken ribs and a scalp hemorrhage, and her left lung was dark, indicative of pneumonia, Thoemmes said. Pili-Ah You’s body tested positive for COVID-19, pneumonia and the flu, according to HPD.
The child’s adoptive mother, Sina Pili, was indicted Friday by an Oahu grand jury and charged with manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a minor and persistent nonsupport, according to state court documents.
Pili has been employed by the state Department of Education since 2015 as a behavioral health specialist, servicing schools in Windward District. She was based at Kahuku High & Intermediate campus.
Pili provided “specialized mental health counseling to students,” according to DOE officials.
Following her arrest Friday, Pili was placed on “leave pending investigation, effective March 7,” which is unpaid for first 30 days, according to the department.
Pili-Ah You was adopted by Pili and her husband two months before she died. Thoemmes said the girl’s adoptive father has not been arrested, but remains under investigation.
“Child torture is insidious. It is gradual, calculated and systematic, and intended to break its victims completely,” said Thoemmes, who urged state lawmakers to pass pending legislation, Senate Bill 281, allowing law enforcement more power to intervene, investigate and arrest people who abuse children.
Child abuse and death investigations take longer than murder investigations, Thoemmes explained, because officers have to go over medical records, autopsy reports and school records; interview family members; and gather additional evidence.
On the day Pili-Ah You died, the suspect “slapped and punched” the child multiple times over a period of 30 minutes, police said. On Dec. 22, 2023, patrol officers responded to a 911 call of an unresponsive 11-year-old girl at a home in Laie.
The girl had been sick and held out of school but was in class the day before she died.
Despite the victim suffering from a fever and uncontrolled urination, Pili allegedly forced the girl to exercise by running back and forth from the family home to a chapel, police said.
Pili-Ah You’s adoptive father told police he found her in the shower, unresponsive, after hearing a thud. Arriving officers saw him giving the girl “lifesaving care” in the hallway of the home outside the bathroom before firefighters took her into the living room to try and revive her.
She was taken to Kahuku Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.
Pili-Ah You’s death was initially classified as an unattended death. Homicide detectives, noticing the bruising, brought in HPD’s child abuse detail. Pili and her husband told police they had no idea how the girl was injured and suggested it could be a result of playing sports.
According to the indictment, Pili “recklessly” caused her adopted daughter’s death. Manslaughter is a Class A felony punishable by 20 years in prison without the possibility of suspension of sentence or probation.
Pili was arrested at about 1:45 p.m. Friday at Kahuku High and Intermediate School and will remain in police custody until she appears for arraignment Thursday in Oahu Circuit Court.
Four other children in Pili and her husband’s care, ages 12, 9, 8, 7, have been placed in protective custody by state Child Welfare Services.
Pili earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Brigham Young University of Hawaii in Laie and a master’s in social work from the University of Hawaii, where she is pursuing a doctorate from the Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health, according to a profile on the Department of Sociology web page.
“In her free time, (Pili) is centered on everything family related, from attending her children’s sporting events, church activities altogether, or just being in the company of loved ones,” reads her profile.
This was the second time this week that charges were filed in a child’s death on Oahu. On Feb. 27 police arrested two women — Janae Perez, 25, and her girlfriend, Ashleigh Utley, 33 — in connection with the June starvation death of 3-year-old Sarai Perez-Rivera in Kapolei.
Perez, who is the girl’s mother, and Utley were indicted Tuesday for second-degree murder, first-degree assault, hindering prosecution and two counts of kidnapping.
“Our keiki are precious and vulnerable. We all have a responsibility to care for our keiki, who are the future of Hawaii,” said Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm. “If you see keiki in need of help or look like they have been assaulted, please call the Child Abuse Reporting Line.”
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Julia Kaneshiro is handling the Pili-Ah You case.
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Report abuse
>> Child abuse and/or neglect: 808-832-5300 (Oahu) or toll-free 888-380-3088 (Hawaii island, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kauai). Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
>> Child trafficking: 808-832-1999 (Oahu) or toll-free 888-398-1188 (Hawaii island, Molokai, Lanai, Kauai). Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
This story has been updated to include employment information about Sina Pili from the state Department of Education.
