HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Skull discovery reopens case
Advertiser Staff
An incident in which a dog returned home with a partial skull has prompted Big Island police to investigate whether the remains are those of a Puna woman who was reported missing in May.
A Fern Forest resident reported that the partial skull was discovered in July near the home of 74-year-old Elizabeth Christensen, who was reported missing on May 15. Detectives and a scent-tracking dog searched the area without finding any other remains.
The partial skull is being sent to a Mainland laboratory for DNA comparison with samples from one of Christensen's relatives.
KALIHI
MAN ARRESTED FOR THROWING CLEAVER
Police arrested a 19-year-old man in Kalihi early Monday morning after he allegedly threw a meat cleaver at an 18-year-old man.
The younger man told police the older man and others were drinking and creating a disturbance about 12:15 a.m., and he asked the man to leave. The older man then reportedly left, but returned about five minutes later with a large meat cleaver.
The younger man told police he was able to grab a baseball bat as he was fleeing, at which point the man threw a cleaver at him from about 15 feet away but missed.
The man who threw the cleaver was located nearby and arrested on suspicion of attempted second-degree murder, police said.
HONOLULU
$10 MILLION FOR NEW AIRPORT CORRIDOR
Planned improvements at Honolulu International Airport will make it easier for travelers to move through the immigration and customs area.
U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye yesterday announced that the Federal Aviation Administration has awarded the state a $10 million grant for construction of an enclosed, air-conditioned corridor on the third level of the 'ewa side international concourse. The new corridor will also include a people mover, said state Transportation Department spokesman Scott Ishikawa. Construction is expected to begin next year.
DANCE TEACHER'S RETRIAL POSTPONED
The retrial of former 'Aiea dance instructor Daniel Jones on charges of molesting two students is postponed until Jan. 16. It had been slated to start Monday.
Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall granted the postponement yesterday at the request of Jones' lawyers, who wanted more time to prepare for the retrial. During his first trial, Jones, 21, a former instructor at the Rosalie Woodson Dance Academy in 'Aiea, faced 18 charges of molesting five students. A Circuit Court jury in May acquitted him of 12 counts of molesting three girls and could not reach a verdict on the other six counts.