The man accused of stabbing Brent Keolaokalani Kanae to death in an Ala Moana Center stairway earlier this month may have done so out of jealousy over a woman, authorities said.
Kapahulu resident Jacob Le, 26, was being held on $250,000 bail after he was charged with second-degree murder Friday.
Le and Kanae, 23, were neighbors and belonged to the same hip-hop and break-dancing group, sources said.
A witness identified Le as being at the Oct. 3 crime scene moments after the incident. A source said Le and Kanae had arranged to meet to talk at Ala Moana that day. Kanae was found mortally wounded in the stairway by a woman who did not know him, a source said.
Kanae was a line cook at Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Co. at Ala Moana. Kanae’s mother said the family had just returned from Disneyland and that he had shown up at Ala Moana early on his first day back to work so he could have lunch with friends and give out souvenirs.
A motive is still not clear, but prosecutors are expected to show that after Kanae and a woman ended their relationship, the woman dated Le for a time. The woman then broke up with Le, who continued to have feelings for her, sources said.
Le’s Facebook page expresses sadness and shock at Kanae’s death. It also contains writing about love and love lost.
Le is shown in a YouTube video break-dancing at Kanae’s funeral as a tribute to him.
Le was interviewed about Kanae by KHON-TV’s Brianne Randle the day after the stabbing. In the TV news story, Le described Kanae as "like a brother to me."
Family and friends described Kanae, also known as "Keola" and "Ola," as a kind and popular young man with a passion for dancing.
Last week, Kanae’s family and friends surrounded his mother as she pleaded with the public to come forward with any possible information on the case.
Kanae was a 2006 Kalani High School graduate who played football and was in the orchestra.
Le has a nearly spotless record. In 2007 he paid $70 for a jaywalking violation. He is a 2004 graduate of McKinley High School.
