Question: Whatever happened to the case of a Hilo woman whose decomposed remains were found three years ago in a former sugar cane field in Hamakua?
Answer: Hawaii County police say the case of Myra Hatayama, whose decomposed remains were discovered in a remote former sugar cane field in Hamakua three weeks after her disappearance, was suspended in mid-2011 because no progress was made in the case.
The missing-persons case of the 46-year-old grandmother and former assistant manager at the Puainako Pizza Hut initially appeared suspicious, police said.
Hatayama’s boyfriend was the last to see her at their Hilo home sometime between late March 4, 2011, and the early morning hours of March 5, police said.
Hatayama’s then-52-year-old boyfriend told investigators the couple had an altercation the night of March 4 at their home, according to a court affidavit filed by police and obtained by Hawaii Tribune-Herald reporter John Burnett.
(The Hilo District Court document is now sealed.)
The man told police she wanted a ride to buy prescription medication, but he did not want to take her and did not want her to leave the residence because it was nearly 10 p.m., the affidavit said.
She left on foot with just her cellphone, but she left her purse behind at the house, the affidavit said.
Hatayama’s daughter reported her missing after she failed to show up the following morning to watch her granddaughter.
Police said the 5-foot-tall, 110-pound woman was wearing a tank top, shorts and slippers when she left.
On March 8, a detective interviewing the boyfriend saw what appeared to be a bloodstain on his shirt, which he could not explain. It "tested presumptively for human blood," the affidavit said.
Detectives, acting on a tip, found her remains March 28, 2011, and used X-rays and dental comparisons to positively identify Hatayama.
Police reclassified the case as a coroner’s inquest.
Lt. Greg Esteban said that due to the state of decomposition, with "very little tissue remaining," the medical examiner could not determine how she died.
"We haven’t excluded foul play, but the autopsy findings are more consistent with a drug-related event," he said.
The toxicology report indicates evidence of drugs, which can mean illicit drugs or prescription medications, Esteban said.
The case remains classified as a coroner’s inquest, but was suspended because no progress was made and no cause of death was determined.
The inactive case, however, can be reopened if new developments should arise, Esteban said.
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This update was written by Leila Fujimori. Suggest a topic for “Whatever Happened To…” by writing Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210, Honolulu 96813; call 529-4747; or email cityeditors@staradvertiser.com.
