HANAPEPE – The stabbing murder of a 43-year-old Maui woman whose body was found at Pakala Beach last Wednesday has pulled a curtain of fear over towns in West Kaua’i. In the wake of the discovery of the body of
HANAPEPE – The stabbing murder of a 43-year-old Maui woman whose body was
found at Pakala Beach last Wednesday has pulled a curtain of fear over towns in
West Kaua’i.
In the wake of the discovery of the body of Daren R. Singer,
residents have curtailed recreational activities, warned their children to
travel in groups and asked police to step up their investigations.
In the
event his grandchildren are threatened, Hanapepe resident, Anthony Agor, an
Army veteran, said he would use weapons to protect them.
The fear of
residents has intensified following two other brutal attacks against women in
West Kauai since April.
“I was scared when the first one happened, now I am
really afraid,” said a 68-year-old ‘Ele’ele woman who asked to remain
anonymous.
Residents said they don’t believe the murder was race-related,
although the victims in the three incidents are Caucasian and are of slim
build.
All of them might have been targeted because they were in remote
areas, said one 31-year-old Hanapepe woman who camped out with her family at
the Lucy Wright Park in Waimea.
“We don’t want two dead haole women, or any
dead women,” she said.
The women were killed and assaulted because they
travel alone, said one local woman at the Ele’ele Shopping Center.
“They
weren’t killed because they were haole,” she said. “They just didn’t use any
common sense.”
The fact that the victim were only Caucasian didn’t give
any comfort to another local woman from ‘Ele’ele.
” The victims may have
all been haole, but this guy could turn on other people,” said the woman, who
not be identified. “You can never tell what could happen.”
The incident
left him shocked because he didn’t think heinous crimes were likely to be
committed in West Kaua’i, where people know one another, are friendly and watch
out for another, said Eddie Keopuhiwa, 55 of Hanama’ulu, who camped out at Salt
Pond Park with his family during the Labor Day weekend.
Hanapepe
residents Maude Agor and her husband, Anthony, said the brutal crimes have
stripped away a sense of safety that once was found in West Kaua’i.
Rottweiler and pit bulls dogs guard their home in Hanapepe, and, Anthony Agor,
an Army veteran, said he is armed and will use weapons to protect his family as
a last resort.
Ashley Broyles, a senior at Waimea High School, said the
murder is on the minds of many students at the school and that she won’t travel
to unfamiliar places without company.
One local lady said she was scared
when the first murder was committed, and has become “really scared” following
the murder o f Singer, whose identity was confirmed Friday by Kaua’i police.
Singer suffered multiple stab wounds, according to authorities. She was
in Kaua`i surfing and had evidently been camping alone, police said.
On
Saturday, some Kauai police officers reportedly canvassed the areas on
horseback as part of their investigation into the murder.
No suspects had
been arrested by Saturday.
Singer is the third diminutive Caucasian woman
to be stabbed on the west side of Kaua`i since April 7, when the partially nude
body of Lisa Bissell, 38, was discovered in a ditch at Polihale State
Park.
A 52-year old Kekaha woman was also attacked at a beachside home in
Kekaha in May. She suffered multiple stab wounds, but survived the
attack.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext.
225) and lchang@pulitzer.net
