Grisly murder case drags on: Puna man is accused of shooting to death his wife, children in 2016

JOHN ALI HOFFMAN

In this 2016 file photo, Reyna Urruela Pineda and Tito Monroy Urruela, mother and brother of murder victim Aracely Hoffman, display photos of the slain woman with her daughter, who was also shot to death, allegedly by John Ali Hoffman.

In this 2017 file photo, triple-homicide defendant John Ali Hoffman appears in Hilo Circuit court.

The court-appointed attorney for a 57-year-old Pahoa man accused of killing his wife and two children eight years ago has been granted a private investigator, at taxpayers’ expense, to ascertain the history of mental health in his client’s family.