Suspect in the killings of 3 men in Hawaii is charged with murder

A Hawaii man arrested earlier this week following a dayslong manhunt has been charged with murder in connection with the killings of three men on the Big Island, police announced.

Jacob Daniel Baker, 36, is charged with one count of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder, the Hawaii Police Department said in a news release Saturday. The murder charges came after police conferred with the Hawaii County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, the department said.

The first-degree murder charge pertains to “intentionally or knowingly killing two or more people,” and the second-degree murder charges relate to the three slain victims, police said.

Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the killings.

Attorney information for Baker was not immediately available Sunday. He is scheduled to make an initial court appearance in Hilo District Court on Monday.

Baker is also charged with burglary, breaking into a car, auto theft and other offenses, authorities said.

“Baker’s bail for the murder charges is set at no bail. He will not be eligible for release even if he makes bail for the property crimes,” police said.

Baker, of Pāhoa, was arrested Thursday in Kalapana following a dayslong manhunt. He was wanted in connection with three killings in the Puna District, a large rural area on the island’s east coast.

He was spotted ducking down in a field as traffic passed by and fled before he was found in a small cave, police have said.

The victims were identified as Robert Shine, 69; John Carse, 69; and a 79-year-old man whose name was not released pending notification of family.

Shine was found by patrol officers who responded to a disturbance at a home on Papaya Farms Road in Pāhoa on Monday, according to police. He was found partially submerged in a man-made pond, Police Capt. Jeremy Scott Lewis previously said.

Robert Shine was found dead at a residence on Papaya Farms Road in Pāhoa, Hawaii.Anon Shine via KHNL

An autopsy revealed he died of strangulation, officials said.

The second victim, the 79-year-old, was found Tuesday when patrol officers responded to another residence on Papaya Farms Road. They found the man dead inside with “suspicious injuries,” police said.

Carse was found 19 miles away that same day after a report of a dead man on a property on Kalapana Kapoho Beach Road. According to police, Carse’s autopsy showed he died of sharp-force trauma.

The only known connection between the victims was the fact that Shine and the unidentified man lived just 400 to 500 feet apart, Hawaii Police Chief Reed K. Mahuna previously said at a news conference.

The investigation into the killings is ongoing, officials said.

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