MARINE CAMP — A mother living on Kauai is having a difficult time as she grieves for her murdered son.
Clelia Pirotton survives on disability and the income of another son. The two live outdoors so they can save enough money for a trip to California to reunite with family.
Pirotton said her life was shattered after learning that her son, Alexis Pirotton Gonzales, 34, was murdered on Oahu sometime between Aug. 21-25, 2013. He was a missing person for nearly a month until his body was discovered near Mililani cemetery on Sept. 15.
“I don’t understand how this could happen,” Pirotteon said. “He was very strong but also easy going and could walk into any room and come out friends with anyone.”
There was a photo of a tattoo on his arm that was used to identify the body, she said. It would be weeks before the police would identify Bryan Suitt, 46, a friend of Alexis, as the primary suspect in the case on the Monday following Thanksgiving weekend.
Dave Koga, communications officer for the Honolulu Prosecutors Office, said Suitt was indicted for second-degree murder by a grand jury on Nov. 26. Days later, Suitt was arrested on a bench warrant in San Diego.
Suitt cannot be arraigned on the charge until the extradition hearings process is complete and if the court in San Diego rules against Suitt’s request to refuse extradition back to Hawaii.
Investigators said Alexis died from multiple stab wounds to the chest and his body was dismembered. The only media reference to Alexis is about his criminal record, Pirotton said. She wants people to know that he was a father, gifted artist and guitar player.
Alexis was raised in California and dropped out of high school to marry his girlfriend who became pregnant with their son. He joined the U.S. Marines and moved to Oahu upon his discharge and worked aboard fishing boats.
Alexis joined his mother and brother on Kauai in 2001. He worked while completing his GED at Kauai High School.
Although Alexis and his wife never divorced, she remains in California with their 13-year-old son.
Alexis liked to drink, his mother said, and that got him into trouble with a drunken driving charge in 2005. After failing to complete drug court he was sentenced to three and a half years at Halawa Correctional Facility in Aiea.
Upon his release in 2009, Alexis decided to stay on Oahu, she said. He was hard working and had no problem finding new jobs and they kept in touch.
Alexis lived in a home with others, she said. A female house mate reported him missing after he failed to return to the home for several days.
The morning of Sept. 15, she said there were television reports about a dismembered man found on Oahu. A short time later, her son and two friends came to her room to tell her that Alexis was dead.
“It hit me like a freight train,” Pirotton said.
She said there is no death certificate for Alexis and his body cannot be released because of the investigation and trial. “Every day since then is just a reminder that I am living in hell,” she said.
• Tom LaVenture, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0424 or by emailing tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
