Man Serving Time for Greusome Mall Machete Attack, Named as Suspect in Deadly Inmate on Inmate Assault

Kumulipo Sylva at sentencing (1.24.20) PC: Wendy Osher.

Kumulipo Sylva, the man accused of the “near decapitation” of Eduardo Alejandro “Alex” Cerezo with a machete at a mall bathroom on Maui in 2018, is now named as a suspect in a deadly inmate-on-inmate assault at the Hālawa Correctional Center on Oʻahu.

According to Public Safety officials, staff at Hālawa were alerted to a report of the assault  at 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020.

A spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety tells Maui Now that a 70-year-old inmate was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital following the incident, but was pronounced dead a short time later at 11:34 a.m.

Wednesday’s incident remains under criminal and administrative investigation.

Prosecutors in the earlier Maui case had sought a second degree murder conviction against Sylva, but the man was ultimately found guilty of a lesser manslaughter charge “based on extreme mental or emotional disturbance.”  He is currently serving a 20-year prison term.

Information on the other inmate involved in Wednesday’s altercation was not released.