There is so little left, but Kimberlyn Scott is desperate to claim it all: the jawbone violently split in two, the tips of five fingers, a piercing with a bit of flesh attached, an unidentified piece of bone possibly from the upper palate, a clutch of that telltale red hair.

It’s been six years since the remains of Scott’s daughter Carly, better known as “Charli,” were discovered in a brush area at Nuaailua Bay near Keanae in East Maui following an extensive search by police, family, friends and community volunteers.

Steven Capobianco, Charli Scott’s former boyfriend, was convicted of murdering the 27-year-old Makawao woman, who was five months pregnant with their son, and sentenced in March 2017 to life in prison following an exhaustive five-month trial. Capobianco must serve a minimum of 50 years — 40 for the murder and 10 for setting her car on fire in an attempt to cover up his crime — before being considered for parole.

The pieces of Scott’s jawbone were entered into evidence during the trial, a move Kimberlyn Scott has decried as unnecessary, and are being kept, along with the other remains, in Maui Police Department custody pending a possible appeal of the case.

Scott will get to view the remains for the first time Sunday under a special agreement with the Maui Police Department brokered by the county prosecutor’s office. Scott is planning a public memorial at noon outside the Maui Police Morgue & Forensic Facility in Wailuku to honor her daughter’s memory and a private ceremony inside that will include a spiritual “cleansing” of the remains.

It won’t be enough to truly satisfy Scott, who has begged, pleaded with and cajoled police and prosecutors to allow her to give her daughter what she considers a proper burial. But it’s more than she’s previously been granted during her protracted crusade.

“This is huge,” she said Monday. “She will finally be cleansed of Steven’s hands, and he will no longer linger on her.”

Sunday marks the sixth anniversary of Charli Scott’s 2014 disappearance. Capobianco, who participated in the early search effort, initially told police that Scott had driven him to a spot off Hana Highway where his truck had broken down the previous day. He claimed he and Scott drove back separately and that he didn’t know what happened to her.

Capobianco’s story unraveled with eventual discovery of Scott’s remains and other articles — including a maternity skirt with some 27 stab marks where Scott’s abdomen would have been — and cellphone transmission records that conflicted with Capobianco’s account, along with forensic evidence linking him to the scene. The prosecution argued Capobianco was angry that Scott did not follow through with plans to abort the fetus.

During the ensuing trial, First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Robert Rivera used the jawbone in court as evidence of Scott’s brutal murder and the disposal of her body. Rivera successfully prosecuted the case, but because the victim’s remains were used in court, they continue to be kept in police custody.

Scott, who said she was not informed ahead of time that her daughter’s actual remains would be shown to the jury, said Rivera initially told her they would be released to her after the trial. She said he later told her the remains would be released in three to five years once Capobianco’s appeal was heard. However, the convicted murderer has reportedly had difficulty finding representation, so no appeal has yet been filed and Scott continues to wait.

“There is no process to return Charli’s remains. Using remains in a courtroom doesn’t happen very often, to my understanding,” Scott said. “With the advent of technology and DNA over the last 20 years, nobody uses body parts in court cases anymore. It’s unnecessary.”

Scott said prosecutors could have used standard high-definition/high-resolution images to make their case but opted instead to use her daughter’s jawbones as a prop, at one point handling them like a pointer to gesture at a projected image.

Had a full body been recovered, Scott said, an autopsy would have been performed, images taken and other evidence comprehensively documented, after which the body would have been returned to her — a process that usually takes no more than two weeks.

Scott first requested the return of her daughter’s remains three years ago, but nothing came of it, despite an assurance from then-Maui Prosecuting Attorney John D. Kim that he would assist in the effort. In 2018 she thought she had an agreement with MPD to view the remains, but just before the scheduled appointment, Scott was informed she would be allowed to spend 20 minutes in the evidence room but would not be allowed to actually see the remains.

Scott spent the next year lobbying against Kim’s bid to retain his position as prosecuting attorney because of what she felt was his negative attitude toward victims’ families that permeated his department. Kim ultimately fell one vote shy of confirmation by the County Council.

Her relationship with MPD also has been strained during her quest to reclaim her daughter’s remains. She noted Maui Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu’s promise after the trial to continue working with her family to locate the rest of Charli’s remains.

“Nothing came of that,” she said. “I can’t get the chief or anyone else to call us back about searches for Charli.

“I have a lot of respect and love for MPD, but my gratitude was never meant to purchase my silence when there is a wrong,” she said. “For what we have gotten we are extremely grateful because some get nothing. But I also know that we went through hell and did a lot of work. Getting justice for Charli was a cooperative effort with my community. It was my 16-year-old daughter who found her sister’s violated clothing, which let to Charli’s remains. We did not have police support until then.”

Maui police and the county prosecutor’s office did not respond to Honolulu Star-Advertiser requests for comment Monday.

Scott’s apprehension in dealing with MPD flared again Monday when she was informed that she will only be allowed to see the two pieces of jawbone at Sunday’s viewing and not the other remains, causing her to worry they have degraded due to improper storage. The uncertainty has her questioning whether to cancel Sunday’s planned memorial and viewing.

The unanswered questions also nettle. If only the jawbone was entered into evidence, why can’t the rest of the remains be released? If the jawbone itself was not properly stored, is it still viable as evidence? What happens if Capobianco is unable to find representation for an appeal?

“I’m done,” she said. “This could go on forever. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel. I’m 53 years old and I have health issues. As unnatural as it sounds, I want to bury my daughter before I go.”

Scott said the way she regards her daughter’s remains has changed over time.

“There has been an evolution of emotions,” she said. “At first I was horrified at the thought of the bones. I was horrified when I thought about her fingertips. Eventually, I found comfort in the way Hawaiians think about the sacredness of iwi. I’m horrified at what happened to her, but this is separate from the remains. This is Charli, these parts of her. If I could touch them, I would.”

Her remembrances are also in a state of evolution. She recalls fondly her daughter’s innate maternal qualities, which she showed in the way she cared for her sisters and for Scott herself. She laughs at the image of Charli playfully sticking out her tongue to show off her piercing. She still marvels at what a good cook Charli was (“It was how she showed love,” Scott said).

And yet, remembering the adult Charli, the Charli whom Capobianco slaughtered, can be painful. Those loving fingertips. That playful tongue. The smile that broke above that lovely jawline. And so she remembers her daughter as a baby.

Things will be easier, she hopes, when she is finally able to give Charli a proper burial. To replace the roadside memorial with a real final resting place.