Kahului man charged in mother’s stabbing

A Maui man was charged Tuesday in the stabbing death of his 43-year-old mother in a one-bedroom shack in Kahu­lui.

Keoni Vinuya Tomas, 25, of Kahu­lui was charged with second-degree murder, Maui police said. Bail was set at $1 million.

The man’s arrest and charge stemmed from an investigation into the death of his mother, Kimberly Vinuya, at a Maka­lii Street home in Kahu­lui on Monday, police said.

Patrol officers responded to a possible abuse case at the home after a caller reported hearing a woman screaming, police said in a news release.

The officers found the woman’s body on the floor of a detached room on the property. Police said the woman had stab wounds. The area was searched, and a man was found in the back of the property’s main house. Officers detained the man, then took him into custody.

Police said Tomas was arrested Jan. 2 in connection with the death of Kahu­lui resident Gail Otsuka.

Otsuka’s body was found at her Molo­kai Akau Street residence in Kahu­lui, police said.

Police said evidence recovered from the scene was sent to Oahu for DNA analysis and that the results of DNA analysis are pending.

Tomas was released pending further investigation after police conferred with the prosecutor’s office, police said.