Police continue to investigate December 2023 second-degree murder case in Hilo

Detectives with the Hawai‘i Police Department continue to investigate the December 2023 death of 68-year-old Albert Harry Pacheco Sr. of Hilo.

At about 4:45 p.m. Dec. 3, 2023, South Hilo patrol officers responded to a report of an unresponsive male sitting in a vehicle on a banana farm above Alae Cemetery in Hilo. Officers located Pacheco, later determined to be a farm employee, in his vehicle with a single gunshot to his upper thigh.

A forensic pathologist ruled Pacheco’s death as homicide following an autopsy. The case is classified as second-degree murder.

Big Island detectives have interviewed numerous witnesses, including banana farm employees and people from neighboring properties. Police have not yet identified a motive or suspect in the case.

Anyone who might have information about this case is asked to contact Detective Christopher Jelsma with the Hawai‘i Police Department Area I Criminal Investigation Section at 808-961-2386 or via email at Christopher.Jelsma@hawaiicounty.gov. You can also call the department’s non-emergency line at 808-935-3311.

Those who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 808-961-8300.