HPD Identifies Murder Suspect in Cold Case

Hawai´i Island police have identified a suspect in a murder case that stretches back more than 40 years.

Hawai´i News Now reported Thursday that police cited new developments in the case of Valerie Ann Warshay, who was found dead in Harry K. Brown Park in Kalapana in April of 1978. Investigators ruled her death a homicide, though no killer was ever found.

Warshay, a park ranger from California who was 26 years old at the time of her death, had been visiting the island for a few weeks before she was murdered, HPD said. Police added that she was an avid hiker who made several acquaintances during her brief time on the island.

Now, according to the HNN report, the case has been forwarded to the Hawai´i County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for consideration. The suspect has yet to be named publicly.

Anyone with further information on the case is asked to contact Detective Derek Morimoto at 808-961-2380 or via email at Derek.Morimoto@hawaiicounty.gov. They may also call the department’s non-emergency line at 808-935-3311.

Murder cases are never closed unless they are solved, and there is no statute of limitations on homicide cases.