KAILUA-KONA — The parents of 3-year-old Fabian Garett-Garcia, who died last year while in foster care, are hopeful a 44-year-old Honokaa woman arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the death will be charged with the offense.
At 9:50 a.m. Wednesday, Hawaii Police officers arrested Chasity Alcosiba on suspicion of second-degree murder at a residence off Kahana Drive in Honokaa. She was listed as Chasity Alcosiba McKenzie in police logs.
After her arrest, police contacted the Prosecutor’s Office, which Maj. Robert Wagner said Thursday morning indicated that Alcosiba would not be charged at the time. She was then released from custody.
He said the murder investigation was being routed to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Fabian’s parents, Sherri-Ann Garett and Juben Garcia, released the following statement via their attorney Jeff Foster on Thursday morning.
“Today, our suspicions and worst fears were confirmed when we were told that our 3-year-old son Fabian Garett-Garcia was murdered,” the statement read. “There are no words that can describe the way we feel today.”
“We would like to send our heartfelt thanks and aloha to Detective Carrie Akina and the Hawaii County Police Department for their hard work and dedication in bringing Fabian’s killer to justice,” the statement continued. “We would also like to thank our ohana, friends and community who have offered prayers, love and support during the most difficult time of our lives. Mahalo.”
Garrett and Garcia also expressed their wishes for how the case turns out and the changes it can inspire across the system into the future.
“We are hopeful that criminal charges against Fabian’s killer will be filed promptly and pursued vigorously by the prosecutor’s office,” the statement read.
“We also hope that Fabian’s murder will result in long-overdue changes to the way the state of Hawaii responds to complaints of child abuse against children in the State’s custody. We do not want any other family to have to endure the daily nightmare that we will be living through for the rest of our lives.”
Fabian was pronounced dead July 25, 2017, at North Hawaii Community Hospital in Waimea. According to police, officers responded to a foster home in Waimea where the child was not breathing.
Police said at the time the foster parents gave police an indication of what happened to the toddler throughout the day. However, details of the statements are not being released due to the ongoing investigation.
The pathologist’s report, which the Hawaii Police Department said it received Feb. 22, determined Fabian’s cause of death to be “blunt force trauma to the head,” according to a media release. The manner of death was listed as “undetermined.”
In June, Wagner said the case was being reviewed by a second doctor because the first doctor couldn’t determine a manner of death.
Whoa! Wait a second! Stop the bus! And what were you doing while your child was in foster care? How about NOT CARING FOR HIM…HELLOOOOOO!!!!! If you’re not responsible enough to raise your own child, how can you possibly complain when something bad happens to him? This is more of Kauai’s “poor me, I’m
an incompetant” pity seeking syndrome. Your child died because you’re lousy parents, not because he was in foster care.