Family members of Peter Kema Jr. were escorted this morning to the Puna site where Peter Kema Sr. said he left the body of his son, also known as “Peter Boy,” in 1997.
County Prosecutor Mitch Roth said he and staff accompanied two of Peter Boy’s siblings, Lina Acol and Allan Acol, his maternal grandfather, James Acol Sr., and maternal aunt, Neivbea Zane, to the general area Kema Sr. told police he had taken the boy’s body after he died.
“When we were driving out there, it started to rain really hard. … It became sunny when we got out there,” Roth said. “At least a couple of us — we were in two different cars — had a conversation about these were tears from heaven. The aunty said they were tears of joy from Peter Boy. … The grandfather, Mr. James Acol, said a prayer to his deceased wife, Yolanda, and (said), ‘We found him, honey. He’s in your hands.’”
The boy’s remains have not been found.
Roth and police Capt. Randall Medeiros of Hilo Criminal Investigation Division, one of the original investigators on the case, said the scope of the search will require the assistance of an outside team with specialized expertise and equipment.
Medeiros said Kema, accompanied by his attorney, directed police to the scene on Sunday. He described Kema as “cooperative.”
“He was short and to the point, but he answered the questions we put to him,” Medeiros said.
Kema pleaded guilty to manslaughter and first-degree hindering prosecution in the death of his son. His deal with prosecutors requires him to lead them to where he left his son’s body. If no remains are found, he will have to take a polygraph test to determine his truthfulness. If remains are found or the polygraph indicates he is truthful, Kema will serve a maximum 20-year prison term. If he is deemed uncooperative, he faces an additional five years in prison when he is sentenced June 8.
Kema and his wife, Jaylin, lied to authorities for almost two decades, saying they had taken the chronically abused and missing boy to Oahu and left him with an “Aunty Rose Makuakane.”
Jaylin Kema also pleaded guilty to manslaughter and told authorities her son died because of abuse from Peter Kema Sr. She is set to be released from jail Thursday after serving a year behind bars and is facing a 10-year probation term when she is sentenced May 30.
A complete version of this story will appear in Thursday’s West Hawaii Today.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.