HONOLULU — Court documents say the 21-year-old man accused of killing an Oahu teenager told police that he fatally choked the victim before leading officers to her body.
HONOLULU — Court documents say the 21-year-old man accused of killing an Oahu teenager told police that he fatally choked the victim before leading officers to her body.
Hawaii News Now reports that Kaniala Avilla-Rapoza pleaded not guilty Monday to second-degree murder in the case. His attorney, Myles Breiner, said his client is on the autism spectrum.
Breiner said the victim, 19-year-old Nelibeth Albert, also had been diagnosed with autism. He said the two knew each other for years.
Avilla-Rapoza was arrested May 18, three days after Albert was reported missing.
Court documents say that Avilla-Rapoza led police to the victim’s body, hidden under several branches that he said he’d placed there.
Breiner has expressed concern that Avilla-Rapoza is being held at the Honolulu Police Department cellblock, rather that the state hospital.
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Information from: KGMB-TV, http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/
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