Honolulu, Hawaii: The adoptive parents of missing 6-year-old Isabella Ariel Kalua have both been arrested on suspicion of murder and officers now believe that Isabella may have been killed a month before she was ever reported missing.
43-year-old Lehua Kalua and 52-year-old Isaac K. "Sonny" Kalua III were arrested yesterday on suspicion of second-degree murder. They are being held without bail.
Isabella was reported missing on September 13 at 6:30 am from her Waimanalo home. Lehua and Isaac told officers that the last time they had seen her was 9 pm the night before in her bedroom.
Homicide Lt. Deena Thoemmes said, "The initial information reported by Isaac and Lehua on September 13 was false." They initially reported that "she left the home in the middle of the night," but review of area surveillance footage ruled that possibility out.
"As our investigation continued, it was determined that foul play was involved," Thoemmes said.
"Unfortunately, what began as a search for a missing girl turned into a murder investigation focused on the Kaluas," Honolulu interim Police Chief Rade Vanic said. "While we are unable to discuss the details at this time, we believe that the evidence leads to the Kaluas and no one else."
In addition to searching the Kalua residence, officers also served a search warrant at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard where Isaac works. Investigators have not yet recovered a body and the cause of death is unknown.
"Specifically, investigators and crime scene technicians are on scene still, and will probably be there through tomorrow, searching for evidence related to Ariel's murder," Maj Ben Moszkowicz with the Honolulu Police Department Criminal Investigation Division said during a press conference yesterday. "Based on the investigation conducted by the Homicide Detail, we believe that Ariel was murdered sometime in the middle of August 2021 by her adoptive parents Lehua and Isaac Kalua. It's worth noting this time element is a full month before Ariel was reported to the police as a missing person. The cause of Ariel's death is stull under investigation and will not be discussed today."
Officers are asking that anyone who may have seen Isabella or even had interactions with her sisters between 2019 and late August 2021 to call CrimeStoppers at (808) 955-8300.