Murder charges filed against ‘Peter Boy’ Kema’s parents

News Release from Hawaii County Police Department April 28, 2016

Hawaiʻi Island police have charged a Pāhoa couple with murder in connection with the disappearance of their son 19 years ago.

Forty-five-year-old Peter Kema Sr. and his 46-year-old wife, Jaylin Kema, were arrested Thursday afternoon (April 29) on the strength of a Grand Jury indictment for the death of Peter Kema Jr.

Both were charged with second-degree murder. Peter Kema Sr. was also charged with driving without a license. His bail was set at $500,500. Jaylin Kema’s bail was set at $150,000.

They are being held at the Hilo police cellblock pending their initial court appearance scheduled for Friday (April 30).

Peter Kema Jr., was six years old when he disappeared in 1997.

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Parents charged in death of ‘Peter Boy’

HTH: The most notorious missing child-turned-murder case in Hawaii history will finally make its way to a courtroom.

A Hilo grand jury on Wednesday indicted Peter Kema Sr. and Jaylin Kema for the death of their son, Peter Kema Jr., aka “Peter Boy,” the abused 6-year-old Big Island boy whose disappearance 19 years ago sparked a statewide media firestorm.

Both face second-degree murder charges, which carry a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole upon conviction. The indictment alleges murder by omission, which means the boy’s alleged death resulted from the couple’s failure to seek medical attention or to provide for his basic needs.

The grand jury finished its work too late Wednesday for indictment returns to be done in open court, so Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura wasn’t able to issue a bench warrant for the Kemas’ arrests until this afternoon.

Bail was set at $500,000 for Peter Sr. and $150,000 for Jaylin Kema.

Kema Sr. was in custody after police picked him up Thursday afternoon on a traffic stop.

In November 2014, Hawaii County Prosecutor Mitch Roth, who’s up for re-election this year, told reporters a new round of interviews by police and prosecutors had turned up additional evidence in the case ….

read … Hawaii Tribune Herald

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