Hawaii
Hawaii County Seeks To Delay Release Of Records in Dana Ireland Case
The question of whether the Hawaii County Police Department will have to turn over records of its investigation into new developments in the Dana Ireland case will now go to the state Supreme Court.
Lawyers representing Albert Ian and Shawn Schweitzer previously filed a motion to compel the department to release records of its investigation into Albert Lauro Jr., recently identified as being the source of DNA found on Ireland after her killing in 1991. He killed himself last month after police took a cheek swab from him.
Judge Peter Kubota last week granted the lawyers’ motion and ordered that a subpoena be issued to the department for multiple items. These included tapes, emails and written communications regarding taking the swab from Lauro on July 19, as well as what he said before, during and after.
Police said they spoke to Lauro at the station for about an hour when they took the swab but lacked probable cause to arrest him for Ireland’s murder. He killed himself at his home days later.
The department was going to have to hand over the records on Wednesday, according to Keith Shigetomi, an attorney representing Shawn Shweitzer. A hearing regarding the Schweitzer brothers’ bid for actual innocence was scheduled for Friday. It’s now been canceled.
Lawyers for the police department argue that disclosing the records could compromise their investigation. In the petition filed with the court Wednesday, they also state that the investigation is “in its infancy” and some of the records requested are incomplete or unavailable.
“Given the new developments in the underlying case, HPD is currently in the midst of completing interviews of witnesses and/or subjects, analyzing Lauro’s electronic devices, finalizing written narratives, and awaiting autopsy and toxicology reports,” the petition says. “Releasing incomplete records during this ongoing investigation would categorically disrupt the criminal investigation and could jeopardize the integrity of the investigation.”
But with Lauro now dead, Brian Black, president and executive director of the Public First Law Center, said it begs the question, “Who are they investigating?”
During Wednesday’s hearing, Kubota asked the attorney for Hawaii County, E. Britt Bailey, how the police investigation could still be going on, HNN reported.
“Are you going to prosecute this dead guy?” he said.
He also said he thought the county’s motions were ways to delay the Schweitzers’ civil case, HNN reported. The Schweitzers were exonerated in Ireland’s death last year after Ian Schweitzer spent 25 years in prison, according to the Innocence Project. But they have not been declared actually innocent, which needs to happen for them to seek compensation from the county.
“These guys were convicted 23 years ago and they’re seeking a determination of actual innocence and in my view, justice delayed at your behest, is justice denied,” Kubota said, according to HNN.
Black said there are other weaknesses in the police department’s argument.
The department says it should not have to release the records under an exemption of the Uniform Information Practices Act that allows government records to remain private when their release would frustrate a “legitimate government function.”
But Black said UIPA doesn’t apply in this case.
“Innocence Project didn’t ask them for the records under UIPA, they asked them for records under litigation,” he said. “That’s got a completely different standard … It’s just a completely different framework for how you look at what the obligations are, what you have to disclose and what reasons you have for not disclosing.”
Ultimately, it is up to the judge overseeing the case to decide if the police department will have to give up the records. It could take anywhere from weeks to months for the Supreme Court to decide on what to do about the police department’s petition, Black said.
Lawyers with the New York and Hawaii Innocence Projects partnered with a private DNA identification company earlier this year to track down the source of semen recovered from Ireland’s body after she was found nearly dead on a fishing trail in Puna. Investigators were able to narrow down the results to identify Lauro as the suspect, and Innocence Project lawyers say Big Island police mishandled the case by failing to take him into custody.
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The demolition of Aloha Stadium on Oahu took a big step forward Thursday with the first section of seating pulled down from the steel structure.
Half of the elevated deck-level seating on the stadium’s makai side was severed and toppled backward as part of demolition work that began in February.
The other half of the upper makai-side seating is slated to come down Tuesday, followed by similar sections on the mauka side and both end zones, though the concrete foundations for lower-level end-zone seating are being preserved for a new, smaller stadium to rise on the same site.
A private partnership, Aloha Halawa District Partners, led by local developer Stanford Carr, is replacing the 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium, which opened in 1975 and was shuttered in 2020, with a new stadium featuring up to 31,000 seats.
AHDP is using $350 million of state funding toward the cost of the new stadium, which could be $475 million or more, and will operate and maintain the facility on state land for 30 years with a land lease.
The development team also is to redevelop much of the 98-acre stadium property dominated by parking lots with a new mixed-use community that includes at least 4,100 residences, two hotels, an office tower, retail, entertainment attractions and open spaces expected to be delivered in phases over 25 years and costing close to or more than $5 billion or $6 billion.
Earlier parts of stadium demolition work led by Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co. included removing four covered multistory spiral walkways leading to the upper level from the ground, and concourse bridges.
Demolishing the stadium is projected to be done by August, according to Carr.
Building the new facility is expected to be finished in 2029.
Hawaii
This Airbnb Tiny Home Sits on a Lava Field in Hawaii With Unbeatable Night Sky Views—and It’s a Guest Favorite
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/tal-airbnb-one-off-tout-1465b3bde0864117b43761b0d1dd346e.jpg?ssl=1 "This Airbnb Tiny Home Sits on a Lava Field in Hawaii With Unbeatable Night Sky Views—and It’s a Guest Favorite")
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The team behind a popular Hawaii-based home renovation show is now facing legal troubles after airing content that shouldn’t have been released, according to the state.
Hawaii’s Attorney General is now involved after HGTV’s ‘Renovation Aloha’ showed uncensored images of apparent ancient skeletal remains that were discovered at a Hilo property.
In a now-deleted clip on social media, Kamohai and Tristyn Kalama, along with the production team, discovered a cave beneath a Hilo property where they found the remains deep inside.
Video documented their shock when it was found, with the hosts saying, “There’s bones back here. I got to get out of here. Are you fricken serious? I’m serious dude. Is that a skull?”
Tristyn was seen standing further back, saying “This is terrifying. I’m at my stopping point” before leaving.
Hawaii News Now is not showing the bones, but confirmed with HGTV the episode was filmed in December 2025.
Video didn’t show them touching or moving the remains, and HGTV said authorities were notified after the discovery, the property was not developed, and the site was later blessed.
At the time, police said no crime was committed, and the state AG obtained a TRO to prevent the broadcast of the images in accordance with state law.
However this week, uncensored video of the bones was posted online by the Kalamas and HGTV, and included in the episode, triggering a quick rebuke from the community.
“We don’t kaula’i iwi. We do not lay our bones out in the sun to expose him in this manner,” former Oahu Island Burial Council Chair Kumu Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu said.
She also said the release of the images was “extremely disappointing,” saying the damage was already done.
“It is irrelevant that bones were not moved. It is irrelevant that they were not disturbed, per se, because somebody didn’t touch them — but you went into their space and that space becomes kapu space once they have transitioned over to po. And when you do that, we honor that. We don’t disturb them,” Wong-Kalu added.
The AG said they took immediate legal action to prevent the unlawful broadcast of images, pointing to a TRO issued prior to the episode’s release. They also said, “We are aware that the segment aired notwithstanding the court’s order, and we take this matter very seriously. The Department will pursue additional action as necessary.”
Court Documents revealed the Kalamas and producers of the show are now facing four counts for allegedly breaking Iwi Kupuna protection rules.
“If that were our grandparent, would we want them, after they have physically transitioned to po, would we want to share our family in this manner? I don’t think so,” Wong-Kalu added.
HGTV said in a statement, “We take the concerns raised by the community very seriously and are committed to ensuring our programming is respectful and appropriate. We apologize to anyone who found any part of the episode offensive, that was not HGTV’s intention.”
They also confirmed the original episode was removed, and re-edited without the bones included.
Through our communication with the HGTV spokesperson, Hawaii News Now offered the Kalamas a chance to respond directly, but they did not. They did however take to Instagram to address the episode, saying they followed the protocols they knew, and never intended to build there. They stressed their respect for Hawaiian culture and practices.
The investigation remains active.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
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