Kona Man Dies After Injuries From Domestic Dispute

Hawaiʻi County Police Department Image.

By Maui Now Staff

A 20-year-old Kona man has died from injuries he received in a domestic dispute on June 21, 2015, according to a new report issued by Hawaiʻi Island police.

Authorities say Ezra Barro of Kailua-Kona was pronounced dead at 4:44 a.m. on Sunday, June 28, at Kaiser Medical Center on Oʻahu.

The case is being reclassified from a first-degree assault to a manslaughter case, according to department reports.

On the night of Sunday, June 21, police say Kona Patrol officers were at Kona Community Hospital for an unrelated case when Barro arrived in a private vehicle and was taken to the emergency room with a laceration to his left forearm.  Barro was later transferred to Oʻahu in critical condition.

Police say an investigation revealed that he had received the injury during a domestic altercation at a home on Awakea Street in Kailua-Kona.

Shortly after midnight, officers arrested 18-year-old Synise Santos of Kailua-Kona at the scene on suspicion of first-degree assault and abuse of a family or household member.

On Tuesday, June 23, after conferring with prosecutors, detectives released Santos pending further investigation. Police say detectives have initiated a second abuse investigation with Santos as the victim.

The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s office is scheduled to conduct an autopsy to determine the exact cause of Barro’s death.  Detectives from the Hawaiʻi Police Department’s Area II Criminal Investigations Division are continuing the investigation.