NORTH KONA — The discovery of the body of a Kailua-Kona resident in a burial site off Highway 190 has led to a murder investigation.
Police report they discovered Alanaokala Solomon Covington, 36, in a grave on the mauka side of the road near the 27 mile marker on Wednesday. The mile marker is located north of the scenic lookout on the upper road that connects Kailua-Kona to Waimea.
“The family is devastated,” said Malama Solomon, Covington’s aunt.
She spoke to West Hawaii Today on behalf of the family.
“He was a very strong person. He had his own manao, his own thoughts,” she said.
What’s made it especially difficult is how brutal the attack was, she said.
Capt. Chad Basque, who heads the Area II Criminal Investigations Section, told West Hawaii Today that police believe Covington’s body was placed there some time during daylight hours on Sunday.
An anonymous tip to police about a murder in Kailua-Kona led to the investigation, and the body was located late Tuesday afternoon, police wrote in a press release.
Police secured the area overnight and recovered the body on Wednesday.
The area is dominated by fountain grass and aa, with a welded wire fence on wooden posts running down the mauka side. There are few turnoffs in the area and the roadbed is often barely larger than the roadway.
An autopsy to determine the exact cause of death is scheduled for Friday.
Waiting for the body to be released has been stressful on the family, Solomon said, as they would like to have some kind of closure.
Anyone with any information about this case is asked to call the Hawaii Police Department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311 or contact Detective Jerome Manuel at 326-4646, ext. 262, or jerome.manuel@hawaiicounty.gov.
Those who prefer to remain anonymous may call the islandwide Crime Stoppers number at 961-8300. Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.