O´ahu Police Nab Suspect in Brutal Assault of Big Island Kūpuna

The Honolulu Police Department apprehended a Big Island fugitive wanted in the brutal assault of an elderly woman that occurred earlier this month in a Hilo parking lot.

Hawai´i News Now initially reported that 37-year-old Zachary Babosh was apprehended at the Aloha Aqua Surf Hotel in Waikiki on the evening of Tuesday, April 20, at approximately 8 pm. Babosh is accused of beating viciously 75-year-old Paulette Stabile on April 10.

The HNN report indicated that Babosh and Stabile were engaged in a verbal altercation inside a bar on Hualani Street several weeks before the attack. The victim’s niece, Daysha Ludwig, told HNN that Stabile communicated to Babosh that she did not care for him.

“He asked why and she said, ‘Because you’re always yelling and swearing at women, and you beat women,'” Ludwig told Hawai´i News Now.

As Stabile was exiting the establishment several weeks later, Babosh allegedly approached and grabbed her from behind. Photos provide evidence of the gruesome beating that ensued, which left Stabile with a broken orbital bone, a broken nose and a concussion. Stabile required stitches to treat lacerations on her face and lost several teeth during the assault.

The suspect, a previously convicted felon, has been arrested in the past for both domestic abuse and assault. At the time of the alleged attack on Stabile, Babosh was on probation after being incarcerated for terroristic threatening and violating a restraining order.

Babosh will face the charge of first-degree assault upon his return to the Big Island. He is currently being held at the Honolulu Police Department cellblock.