Kona man sentenced to life in prison for 2022 murders of two homeless men in Kona

A Kona man was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for the murders of two two homeless men in 2022 in Kona.

Chito K. Asuncion, 25, was sentenced in Kona Circuit Court to life in prison with the possibility of parole on two counts of second-degree murder and 10-year prison terms for two counts of first-degree assault. The court ordered the sentences be served consecutively.

Asuncion pleaded guilty Aug. 28 to the June 7, 2022, murder of Boyd Maygra and the May 17, 2022, murder of Brian Macaulay. He also pleaded guilty to stabbing of Gary Nakagawa on May 25, 2022, and Alice Coleman on May 30, 2022, in Hilo.

“Today’s sentencing holds Chito Asuncion responsible for the pain and suffering that he inflicted and demonstrates our office’s commitment to seek justice for victims and their families and do our part to protect our community,” said Hawai‘i County Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen.

Asuncion was arrested June 7, 2022, after Hawai‘i Island police discovered the lifeless body of Maygra, found with multiple stab wounds, at Hale Halawai Park in Kona. He was taken into custody the same day when he was found near the intersection of Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway and Henry Street in Kailua-Kona.

Through the course of their investigation, Big Island police detectives linked Asuncion to the stabbing death of Macaulay, who was found May 17, 2022, near the intersection of Palani Road and Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway in Kailua-Kona.

Asuncion was also connected to assaults that occurred in Hilo, where Nakagawa, 59, and Coleman, 70, were stabbed in separate attacks. The victims survived.

The investigations were initiated by Hawai‘i Police Department’s Kona and South Hilo Patrol. The felony investigation was led by the department’s Area II Criminal Investigation Section Detective Tyler Prokopec and assisted by members of the Area I and Area II Criminal Investigation Sections.

The case was prosecuted by Hawai‘i County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chase Murray.

“While Asuncion thought little of the lives of Brian Macaulay, Boyd Maygra, Gary Nakagawa or Alice Coleman, they mattered, they were loved and they were valued by their family, their friends and our community. Today’s sentence is a testament to that,” said Murray.