HPD Opens Homicide Investigation in Puna

There has been an apparent murder in Puna.

The Hawaiʻi Island Police Department initiated a homicide investigation after a body was discovered on the morning of Sunday, Oct. 25, in a vehicle on the side of the roadway in Kalapana, in the Puna District.

Shortly after 6:30 a.m. Sunday, Puna Patrol officers responded to the Kalapana area after receiving a report of a deceased body within a parked vehicle on the shoulder of the Keaʻau-Pāhoa Road (Route 130) in Kalapana. Police located the vehicle, a white Ford Mustang, with the male victim’s body inside.

Detectives from the Area I Criminal Investigation Section responded to the scene and are continuing this investigation, which is classified as second-degree murder.

The victim was transported to the Hilo Medical Center and was pronounced dead at 11:15 a.m. Sunday. The victim has been positively identified as 49-year-old Lance Toshio Shibata, of Hilo.

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday to determine the exact cause of death.

Police are asking for anyone with information on this incident or who may have been in the area of the Keaʻau-Pāhoa Road in Kalapana on the evening of Oct. 24 or early morning of Oct. 25 to contact Detective Clarence Davies at (808) 961-2384 or email him at Clarence.Davies@hawaiicounty.gov.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the island-wide Crime Stoppers number at 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers does not record calls or subscribe to any Caller ID service. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.