LIHU‘E — Justin Wynn Klein, 37, will be arraigned today in 5th Circuit Court. He is being charged with second-degree attempted murder of a 31-year-old Japanese visitor over a Dec. 16 incident in Kalalau. After nearly four months wanted by
LIHU‘E — Justin Wynn Klein, 37, will be arraigned today in 5th Circuit Court. He is being charged with second-degree attempted murder of a 31-year-old Japanese visitor over a Dec. 16 incident in Kalalau.
After nearly four months wanted by the Kaua‘i Police Department, Klein was arrested without incident Saturday at Lydgate Beach Park in Wailua at around 5:30 p.m., apparently turning himself in.
Klein’s older sister, Jody Pearson, of Georgia, said her family was starting to believe he was dead. But she learned last week after speaking with Klein over the phone that he had been surviving on goats, took trips on the Kaua‘i Bus to Walmart and eventually got mentally and physically exhausted.
She also said her brother told her he was in a romantic relationship with the victim, was drugged during the incident and does not remember what happened.
“It was my understanding that he had walked up to one of the bystanders (at Lydgate) and told him that he was wanted,” KPD Chief Darryl Perry said Monday. “He asked him to call the police so that he could turn himself in, and that is how we got involved.”
Perry could not give any indication on whether Klein had been hiding out in the state park or had been staying with somebody on the island.
“We don’t know where he was, but we will be following up on that,” he said.
Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said Monday this is the time to recognize the cooperation between the county and the state in a multi-agency search that lasted nearly four months, and also the community in making the call to police from Lydgate.
“Now we have got to keep the team effort going solid, and open up even more doors between the state and the county,” said Carvalho, adding that there are shared costs, “but the bottom line is the safety of the community, both visitors and residents.”
Pearson said on a phone interview Monday that Klein called her Saturday afternoon. His call came a day after he had sent her a message via Twitter that forwarded to a Facebook account.
Pearson said Klein was upset with her for describing him as an addict in earlier interviews with the media. He had apparently caught up on the news once he came to town and bought a cell phone. She said her brother was frightened to turn himself in after having been arrested on Kaua‘i once for something else, and with other charges in Oregon.
Acid and alcohol
The most important part of Klein’s story, Pearson said, is that he claims to have been having a relationship with the woman he is being accused of pushing off the cliff. Pearson said her brother told her the Japanese woman was living at his camp with her friend and another woman who Klein had a previous relationship with.
Klein told Pearson the Japanese woman had money and they had gone to town together to buy supplies and survival gear, including a crossbow and machetes. They were also drinking alcohol and taking acid, she said.
The supplies were buried to hide from camp rangers, Pearson said. The two of were dancing on a sacred area of the trail but Klein doesn’t recall much of what happened, she said.
The victim was reported seen being thrown from a 15-foot cliff face, and a tour boat relayed a distress call through the U.S. Coast Guard. She was evacuated by air in critical condition to Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Lihu‘e.
The woman eventually recovered enough to return to Japan with her family. She reportedly has no memory of the incident.
Pearson said her brother said he would not have intentionally harmed the victim, and that he took five hits of acid and other drugs prior to the incident. He said the woman kissed him after he took acid and does not recall anyone else with them when the incident occurred.
Trips to Walmart
Police, firefighters and state Department of Land and Natural Resources officers conducted a four-day search with no sign of Klein. An islandwide investigation followed.
After four months, Pearson said the family was trying to come to terms with believing Klein was likely dead. They would wonder forever about his fate and what happened that day.
Klein built a shelter with a hammock, and survived by eating goats, she said. He was not specific about the location but said his complexion, dark hair and weight gain are indications he was hiding and not active or in the sun.
Pearson said her brother’s comments to her indicated that the time he spent alone gave him the idea the public and police may have forgotten about him by now. He commented on how no one recognized him on trips to Walmart and on the Kaua‘i Bus.
In addition to the cell phone, she said he bought a new tent and sleeping bag, and seemed surprised to learn that he was still wanted.
“In his mind he hoped the whole thing would go away,” Pearson said.
Klein had also called a former girlfriend in Oregon who also did her best to convince him to turn himself in, according to Pearson. His decision was partly because he was physically exhausted and complained that a sore hip and feet made it more difficult to live in the park.
He was also mentally exhausted, Pearson said. When the people he asked to turn him in at Lydgate Park did not recognize him, Klein spoke of being “protected and godly,” she said.
God, planets, drugs
Pearson said it is difficult to understand Klein at times because he has a set of beliefs that she does not understand. It might be spiritual, but it has to do with “his interpretation of God, the planets, life in general, and the attitude that drugs do not make you an addict.”
Klein was found not mentally fit for a crime in Oregon, and was treated at a mental hospital, she said. Because he was an adult, the family could not inquire about his condition or diagnosis, but did express that his medication made him ill.
In hindsight, she said her brother may have exhibited symptoms earlier in his life, but that his condition did not seem apparent until he used methamphetamine.
“There is a part of him that is a very smart, charismatic and good guy and it is hard for me to reconcile that with this as something he would do,” she said. “The brother I had the conversation with is scared and does not know what to do, and ultimately did do right thing and I want his story to be told.”
Klein remains held on $1 million bail.
“As the case is now going to trial, police and prosecutors will not be releasing any additional details at this time,” said county spokesperson Sarah Blane. “All pertinent information will be made public in court.”
County First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Takata will represent the state, and Klein will be represented by the state Public Defender’s Office. An indictment on the case was issued Dec. 27.
The office of the state Public Defender will represent Klein for the arraignment. No indication was given on whether the office would have a conflict of interest and if the court would appoint a private attorney.
• Tom LaVenture, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0424 or tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
