HONOLULU (AP) — An Oahu man has been found guilty in connection with the death of his then-girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter two years ago.
HONOLULU (AP) — An Oahu man has been found guilty in connection with the death of his then-girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter two years ago.
Joshua Kalili had been facing a murder charge, but a jury convicted him of a lesser charge of manslaughter Wednesday. After a weeklong trial, jurors deliberated for less than a full day before delivering the verdict.
The Honolulu medical examiner determined Styzilee Reyes died in October 2014 from blunt impact to her abdomen with intestinal lacerations. Her death was ruled a homicide.
The child had been in Kalili’s care for several hours before he took her to a hospital, where she later died.
Randall Hironaka, Kalili’s attorney, said the girl had been showing signs of internal injury days before her death that could have been caused by someone other than his client. He also told jurors that Kalili took the girl to the emergency room after he found her on the bathroom floor, and that she had apparently fallen from a stool she used to reach the sink.
Deputy Prosecutor Kelsi Guerra argued that the cuts to the child’s intestines were not common childhood injuries and that they had occurred within hours of her death.
“I do think that there was no doubt as to who caused the injuries. It was clear that (Reyes) was without injuries when her mom left the house to go to work,” Guerra told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser after hearing the verdict.
Kalili did not take the witness stand in his own defense. He faces a mandatory 20-year prison term when he’s sentenced in November, but could also receive probation for 10 years including up to two years behind bars.
The child’s mother has since married Kalili.