Miranda-Garcia brothers to stand trial for 2015 murder

KEALAKEKUA — Testimony during the preliminary hearing of two brothers accused of murdering a Holualoa man in August 2015 revealed their alleged connection to the crime through DNA and phone records.

Eber Miranda-Garcia, 27, and Marlon Miranda-Garcia, 24, appeared unshackled and in plain clothes for the preliminary hearing Wednesday in Kona District Court. The men are charged in the murder of Dolores Borja-Valle, also known as Lolo, who was found dead in a Captain Cook coffee field on Aug. 9, 2015.

Judge Margaret Masunaga granted the defense’s request to allow the brothers to appear for their preliminary hearing unshackled and in plain clothes. One deputy in the courtroom said Wednesday the request and the granting of said request was unprecedented.

The preliminary hearing, which started July 3, was continued to Wednesday. Several expert witnesses and police officers were called to testify.

Eber and Marlon Miranda-Garcia were arrested June 26 at a worksite in Kawaihae. Eber Miranda-Garcia’s wife, Jessilyn Hoohuli, was also initially taken into custody and a third brother, Himer Miranda-Garcia, turned himself in.

Hoohuli was released pending the investigation and Himer Miranda-Garcia was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement.

Former Hawaii Police Department Detective Walter Ah Mow took the stand during the hearing. He testified DNA swabs collected from inside Lolo’s truck, which was found abandoned in Ocean View, connected the death to Eber Miranda-Garcia.

Ah Mow was lead detective on Lolo’s case before he retired in July.

Ah Mow said when he initially questioned Eber Miranda-Garcia about Lolo, the 27-year-old said he knew nothing about Lolo’s death.

“When I confronted him with evidence, he asked to speak with his wife,” Ah Mow said.

The detective said he granted the conversation between Eber Miranda-Garcia and Hoohuli, which was not recorded or taped. Afterward, he gave a different statement.

“He told me his previous statement was a lie and wished to tell the truth,” Ah Mow said.

Ah Mow testified that Eber Miranda-Garcia told him Lolo, who was his landlord at the time, threatened to take away his wife and kids and call immigration.

After dinner on Aug. 8, 2015, the former detective testified, Eber Miranda-Garcia went to speak with Lolo who was outside near the chicken coop on their Holualoa property. Lolo was holding a gun because there had been pigs in the area.

“He attacked Lolo from behind,” Ah Mow stated. “He told me he used rocks to bash his head in.”

Right after killing Lolo, Ah Mow testified Eber Miranda-Garcia told him he got a trash bag and covered him from the top down and put him in the back seat of Lolo’s truck. He wore gloves to clean up the blood.

According to Eber Miranda-Garcia’s statement to the detective, Ah Mow testified the suspect took the victim to a coffee field in Captain Cook, opened the truck door and pushed the body out, where it rolled down an embankment.

Ah Mow said Eber Miranda-Garcia’s statement to him later indicated he drove Lolo’s truck to Ocean View where he abandoned it. He walked to gas station then hitchhiked back to Kona when he later called his brother, Marlon Miranda-Garcia.

“He said he killed Lolo by himself,” Ah Mow said.

Ah Mow testified that he questioned Eber Miranda-Garcia’s confession. He said where Lolo’s body was found it looked like it had been placed there. There was no evidence of the body rolling down the embankment.

Ah Mow added the injuries didn’t match the description of a rock. However, Eber Miranda-Garcia iterated to the detective that it was a sharp rock he used to hit Lolo on the head.

Despite the discrepancies in his confession, Ah Mow told the court he believed Eber Miranda-Garcia committed the murder of Lolo. However, he didn’t believe the 27-year-old acted alone despite his assertions that he did.

Phone records were also looked at in the case. LeVon Stevens with the Hawaii Police Department said the distance between where the body was found and where the truck was located was about 35 or 36 miles away.

In that area, he looked at two cellphone towers: Keopuka Mauka and Ocean View. Stevens said he conducted a tower dump to collect numbers between the two towers. Records indicate Marlon Miranda-Garcia’s phone was in the area where the body was found and had made phone calls to Eber Miranda-Garcia.

Stevens testified he also obtained cellphone records for Hoohuli and Himer Miranda-Garcia on Aug. 8-9, 2015.

“Records indicated they were all communicating through the night,” Stevens said.

Lindsey Harle, forensic pathologist for the state of Hawaii, testified about Lolo’s injuries.

She stated she performed the autopsy on Lolo, who she estimated had been dead two to four days before she performed the autopsy on Aug. 12, 2015.

During the autopsy, Harle determined the cause of death was multiple blunt and sharp wounds to the side of the head and scalp.

There were three different categories of injuries identified on the scalp: sharp, blunt and chop, which is a combination of sharp and blunt.

“I concluded the manner of death was homicide,” Harle said.

Harle testified that the sharp force wounds didn’t have specific defining features.

“All I can say is it was a sharp blade,” she said.

The injury behind the right ear was the most severe as it was the injury that penetrated through the skull into the brain.

“Blood loss may have played a role, but the injury behind his ear would have killed him,” Harle said.

Harle said the victim also had a black eye, which could have been received up to 48 hours prior to his death.

Hoohuli also took the stand.

DeWeese asked the court that Hoohuli be read her Fifth Amendment right. Since she was initially arrested and the case is still under investigation, DeWeese wanted to make sure Hoohuli was aware of her rights.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Sheri Lawson opposed the request. She said DeWeese is not Hoohuli’s attorney and Hoohlui is not in custody in the case.

Despite that, Masunaga related to Hoohuli her right to not answer a question.

When the questioning began, Hoohuli had a prepared statement: “I’m going to exercise my Fifth Amendment right to decline to answer.”

Hoohuli had been advised by an attorney not to answer questions.

Lawson continued her questioning. She asked if Lolo was her landlord; when was the last time she saw him; if her husband was home with her on Aug. 8, 2015; if Marlon was home; if either of the men had problems with Lolo.

Her answer was the same: “I’m going to exercise my Fifth Amendment right to decline to answer.”

After a full day of testimony that stretched into the evening, Masunaga determined the state had shown it had probable cause to support the charges filed against the brothers, committing it to 3rd Circuit Court for further proceedings.

Arraignment and plea hearings have been set for Eber Miranda-Garcia and Marlon Miranda-Garcia on Sept. 7 and 11, respectively. Both remain in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.