Whatever Happened To... An update on past news

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2 murders in 2007 still unsolved

Question: What ever happened to unsolved murder cases in Honolulu from last year?

Answer: Honolulu police Lt. Bill Kato said there are only two murder cases from last year that remain open: the murders of Linda Hannon and Muriel DeMello.

Linda Hannon

On Feb. 25, 56-year-old Linda Hannon was found dead, face down and partially clothed, on the beach below a small ledge near the Kahana Bay fishpond. Her body was discovered about 1:30 p.m. that day by two people.

She was last seen at about 8 that morning. The autopsy revealed that she had died of a blunt force trauma to the head after being severely beaten.

Hannon's boyfriend, John Thoma, was grieving over his loss on April 12 when he saw a man digging in the area. The man, who initially identified himself as Matt Ford, turned out to be Kirk Lankford, the accused killer of Japanese visitor Masumi Watanabe.

Honolulu police Detective Randal Nakamura said there is no connection between Lankford and Hannon's murder.

"We haven't received the right information to lead us to a suspect," Nakamura said. "We believe there were witnesses, but people need to come forward."

About 1:40 a.m. Oct. 18, 46-year-old Muriel DeMello was found unconscious near the restroom at Maili Beach Park. A man collecting cans found her unresponsive. She was declared dead after several attempts to revive her.

She died of intracranial hemorrhage due to blunt force injury to the head. Police believe she was staying in a tent at the beach.

"Anytime you have an outside crime scene, forensically it is much more difficult to solve," Nakamura said.

Police ask anyone with information to call police at 529-3115.

This update was written by Star-Bulletin reporter Gene Park.