Kona Man Dies, Suspect May Also be Victim

Twenty-year-old Ezra Barro, a Kona man who was involved in a domestic dispute on June 21, has died, according to the Hawai’i Police Department.

HPD reports that Barro was pronounced dead at 4:44 a.m. Sunday at Kaiser Medical Center on Oahu.

Officers have reclassified the case as a manslaughter as the investigation continues. The case was originally classified as a first-degree assault.

On June 21, Kona Patrol officers were at Kona Community Hospital for an unrelated case when Barro arrived in a private vehicle. He was taken to the emergency room with a laceration to his left forearm.

The officers determined that he had received the injury while being involved in a domestic altercation at a home on Awakea Street in Kailua-Kona.

Barro was later transferred to Oahu in critical condition.

Police arrested Synise Santos, 18, of Kailua-Kona at the scene on suspicion of first-degree assault and abuse of a family/household member.

Santos was released on June 23 after detectives conferred with prosecutors. A second abuse case has been opened with Santos as the victim.

An autopsy will be conducted by the Honolulu Medical Examiner’s officer to determine the exact cause of Barro’s death.