Parents And Grandmother Allegedly Starved Nine-Year-Old To Death, All Three Charged With Murder In Hawaii

Two parents and a grandmother in Hawaii have been arrested for allegedly starving a nine-year-old girl to death. Kevin Lehano, 49, Tiffany Stone, 33, and Henrietta Stone, 59, are accused of denying Tiffany’s daughter food, water, and medical care. Although the child died last year, the arrests were not made until July 14, 2017.

According to WRIC, Hawaii County Prosecuting Attorney Mitch Roth said the girl was denied food, water, and medical treatment before she died on June 28, 2016. Reading from a grand jury indictment, the 9-year-old was kept from these basic things for approximately one year.

Last year, police and firefighters went to the Hilo home and found Tiffany Stone’s daughter unconscious on the floor. She was severely malnourished and later died at the hospital.

According to Hawaii News Now, sources said Kevin Lehano and Tiffany Stone’s daughter was confined to the home and was unable to leave. Although Hawaii County Police Captain Randy Medeiros would not go into specific details, he did confirm the death was the result of severe malnutrition. He also told the news outlet that it is one of the more heinous cases of child abuse he has seen.

Hawaii News Now speculated that there was a history of child abuse. The parents did not have custody of the 9-year-old girl. At some point in the child’s life, custody was given to the grandmother, Henrietta Stone. It is not known if all three adults lived with the child at the home or what the living arrangement was at the time of the girl’s death.

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According to the Hawaii Department Of Human Services, in 2015 there were 224 confirmed cases of child abuse, neglect, or maltreatment that involved 418 children. Keep in mind, these are only the abuse cases that are reported. The statistics from the agency indicate the number of child abuse cases has decreased over the past several years. Unfortunately, there are many victims who never get saved in time. This was the case with Lehano and Stone’s daughter.

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A few weeks ago, Lehano created a GoFundMe page asking for $15,000. The URL shows he originally asked for donations to purchase a new vehicle. However, his statement on the website listed the funds would be used for car and home repairs.

“We have just one family car, the engine have [sic] to change all the seals, a new timeing [sic] belt, rack in [the] pinion. The engine seals and timing belt alone is 4,000. The rack in pinion for the steering needs replacing that is another 3,000. Then there are some repairs around the house.”

It is not known if Kevin Lehano, Tiffany Stone, or Henrietta Stone have attorneys. Their bail has been set at $100,000 each and they are due in court on Monday.

[Featured Image by Hawai’i Police Department via AP Images]