The acquittal last week of a man accused of killing 39-year-old Keola Penovaroff with a shotgun on Thanksgiving 2015 has the brother of the slain man wondering if he and his family ever will receive justice.
“This is kind of a low blow towards our family,” Derek Ditmar, a 33-year-old landscaper and Penovaroff’s younger brother, said Monday. “Unfortunately, the judicial system could do a better job … with the investigation and all that.
“He was a human being, and he didn’t deserve to have that happen to him, regardless of what he used to do in his life. He didn’t deserve to die, especially like that.”
Prosecutors relied on the eyewitness testimony of Penovaroff’s girlfriend, Venus Mitchell, who admitted she and Penovaroff smoked methamphetamine shortly before the shooting, which occurred in Hilo at about 10 p.m. on Nov. 26, 2015.
The jury of seven women and five men acquitted the defendant, 40-year-old Kalani Kaohimaunu.
Two defense witnesses — Michael O’Shaughnessy, who is Kaohimaunu’s uncle, and Avery Kahookaulana-Sulprizio — testified that Kaohimaunu was at a party hosted by O’Shaughnessy in Kalapana at the time of the slaying and couldn’t have been the shooter.
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits the state from charging and trying Kaohimaunu again for Penovaroff’s slaying.
“It’s definitely been hard,” said Kashayla Penovaroff, a 28-year-old mother of two daughters and Keola Penovaroff’s younger sister. “I can’t tell you how badly his death has rocked all of our lives, just so many people. Given everything that’s been said about him, and I won’t deny anything or say anything, but ultimately, he was a good person.
“He would’ve given you the clothes off of his back if he could’ve.”
Kashayla Penovaroff said her brother was “like a dad to me.”
“I grew up in foster care,” she said. “I wrote to him when I was a teenager and my brother was in prison. He was the only one who showed up to my graduation, and he was so proud of me because I was a 4.0 student. He was the only one who was there for me. So, to lose him like that, it rocked my world, like, bad.”
According to Kayla Penovaroff, her brother, the father of four sons, was intelligent and artistic.
“He would make me paper roses in prison,” she said. “He made me dozens of roses because he knew I loved pink. He made them all pink for me. I lost all my letters in the move. The only thing I have is a picture he drew of me when I was a teenager.
“After I got out of foster care, I didn’t have anywhere to go because you just age out, and they forget about you and forget that you’re a human being. And my brother gave me a place to live and food.”
That sentiment was echoed by Penovaroff’s brother.
“I lost my best friend,” Ditmar said. “He wasn’t just my brother. We were close. He used to take care of me when I was in diapers. My brother was my best friend. Now, I feel like I (have) nobody to turn to, ask for help or whatever.”
Aaron Wills, Kaohimaunu’s attorney, described the murder investigation as lazy and sloppy and said the person who actually murdered Keola Penovaroff is still out there.
Asked to consider that possibility, Penovaroff’s sister replied, “I hope that person has it on his mind, every day for the rest of his life.”
“It is not OK to kill someone,” she said. “I was supposed to be there that night. I was supposed to bring him Thanksgiving dinner, actually. He didn’t respond to me, and I had worked a 10 hour day and was supposed to have taken food to him. I said, ‘I’ll take it to you tomorrow.’ And he didn’t respond.
“I think he knew something was going to happen.”
Lt. Rio Amon-Wilkins of the Hilo Criminal Investigations Section said Monday police don’t plan to reopen the investigation.
“Not guilty doesn’t mean innocent,” Amon-Wilkins said. “… (Kaohimaunu) was identified as the suspect. It went to trial, and that’s the way the system works.”
County Prosecutor Kelden Waltjen said he believes his office “proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“We are disappointed in the verdict. However, we respect the jury’s decision and thank them for their service and thoughtful deliberations,” Waltjen said.
Waltjen disputed Wills’ characterization of the murder investigation that led to Kaohimaunu’s arrest and eventual trial.
“I’d also like to recognize the efforts and hard work of HPD, the (Hilo) Criminal Investigation Section and South Hilo Patrol, Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Joseph Lee and Lucas Burns, who prosecuted the case, our Office’s Victim Assistance Unit and investigators, and the rest of our staff for their dedication and commitment to seeking justice for the Penovaroff family,” he said.
Ditmer is concerned about the possibility of a killer still at large.
“Who killed my brother? Who’s to say he’s not going to come down here and look for me and kill me?” he said.
Kashayla Penovaroff said she was “upset,” but was a bit more philosophical.
“You know, if my brother was here he would say, ‘Justice will be served,’” she said. “When we die, there is someone out there that judges us. And only God can judge (the killer) now.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
