Couple Charged in Death of Child, Released

Kyle McKeown and Grace Lee-Nakamoto. Photos by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

Two Wailuku residents charged with second degree murder in the death of a 4-year-old Maui boy, were released on their own recognizance today.

Kyle McKeown, 32, and Grace Lee-Nakamoto, 27, appeared in court today before Maui Family Court Judge Mimi DesJardins.

The two were released with three conditions imposed by the court, including guidelines that the co-defendants obey the following: (1) refrain from contact with any minors, (2)  refrain from contact with each other, and (3) surrender a passport if they have one in their possession.

Preliminary hearings for both defendants has been set for 3:30 p.m. on July 2, 2012 in Family Court.

As today’s hearing got underway, the state moved that both co-defendants be released citing an ongoing investigation. While prosecutors voiced preference for supervised release, both sides agreed to release of the co-defendants on their own recognizance with the aforementioned conditions.

The prosecution noted that McKeown does have another child with his ex-wife.

Last week, during their arraignment, attorneys for both defendants voiced objections to the judicial determination of probable cause document filed by the state, saying there was insufficient evidence to establish probable cause. McKeown’s attorney argued that the timeline of events did not link his client to the cause of injuries.

The charges stem from a May 29, 2012 incident in which the male child was brought in to the Maui Memorial Medical Center for treatment by his father after being found unresponsive within the shower of their residence.

Maui police say the child victim had sustained severe blunt force trauma to his internal organs and subsequently succumbed to his injuries early Wednesday morning, May, 30, 2012.