Suspects indicted in beating death of man at Kapiolani bus stop
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM
Co-defendents, Nicholas Payne, left, and Chu Lun Aiona appear in District Court on Tuesday. Public defender is Shem Kim. They were indicted today for the beating death of Joey Nguyen, who was found at a Kapiolani bus stop last week.
An Oahu grand jury indicted two men this morning in the beating death of 49-year-old Joey Nguyen, who was found at a Kapiolani bus stop last week.
Nicholas Payne, 36, and Chu Lun Aiona, 39, were indicted on a charge of second-degree murder. Bail for each remains at $1 million.
A witness told police she saw Payne and Aiona punch and kick Nguyen in the face and body for about a half hour on Aug. 28 in an abandoned building near the bus stop.
Before the beating, Nguyen reportedly was on his knees, begging for his life, held in a chokehold, then escaped briefly, running from the two men through the second story of the building.
Aiona turned himself in on Aug. 29 and Payne was arrested Friday.
