KEY POINTS
- Male suspect in the killing of a 51-year-old cleaner and teacher is found guilty by a jury
- Prosecutor bats that Brown was the only one with the physical capacity to restrain Boinville
- Hailey Dandurand is set to appear before the court next in July for the murder of Boinville
One of two suspects behind the killing of a cleaner at a Hawaiian vacation rental has been found guilty by a jury on Friday, Jan. 20.
Stephen Brown was found guilty by the jury on two counts of kidnapping and one count of burglary on Friday in connection with the December 2017 death Telma Boinville in the North Shore neighborhood of Pupukea.
According to Hawaii News Now, the jury deliberated for less four hours to reach a conviction for the 28-year-old suspect.
It was added that Brown was one of two suspects that have faced the jury in connection with Boinville’s death. The other is Hailey Dandurand, Brown’s girlfriend at the time. She is set to face trial next and had pleaded not guilty.
The 51-year-old was doing extra work cleaning vacation rentals for extra income at Oahu’s North Shore. She is a teacher by profession, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
At the time of the incident, Boinville was with her 8-year-old daughter who was waiting for her mom in their car. She was kidnapped and tied up inside a home and was repeatedly told by her abductors that her mother had been murdered.
Brown and Dandurand fled the scene aboard Boinville’s Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. However, they were caught after the vehicle was found with the 51-year-old’s credit card. Both were also found with dried blood on their hands.
Brown hardly showed emotion when the verdict was read on Friday. The trial will continue on Monday, Jan. 23 with the 28-year-old facing an extended life sentence without the possibility of parole, Hawaii News Now said.
According to prosecutors, Boinville accidentally walked in on Brown and Dandurand as they were committing a burglary at a home. Brown allegedly tied her up and killed her using a machete and other weapons.
It was added that Brown testified about surveying the property and tried to pin the blame on his girlfriend who was 20 years old at the time.
In the closing arguments, the legal representatives of Brown said to jurors that their client was guilty of burglarizing the rental and kidnapping Boinville and her daughter but not of homicide, the Hawaii Star-Advertiser mentioned in a separate report.
But according to Deputy Prosecutor Scott Bell, Brown was the only defendant to have the physical capacity to restrain Boinville. Aside from this, they pointed out that Brown had confessed to Boinville’s daughter that the duo killed her mother.
Dandurand is set to go on trial in July, according to KHON2 News,