A Maui family is demanding justice after a beloved 71-year-old cat rescuer was beaten to death while feeding stray animals.
Alfred Kailihiwa, 71, died on August 6 in Kahului on Maui’s North Shore after suspects Johnathan Koko-Kong, 31, and Richard Kealoha-Kaauwai, 34, allegedly attacked him and his sister Valerie Kailihiwa, 73, according to police. The siblings, who fed about 700 cats every night of the year, had been driving through the area on their nightly rounds when the confrontation began.
Police said the alleged assailants and an unidentified woman first confronted the Kailihiwas over their use of bright headlights. Alfred responded by hitting them with pepper spray, then fled with Valerie in her car. The pair stopped near the intersection of Lalo and Hukilike Street to feed another group of feral cats, but Koko-Kong, Kealoha-Kaauwai and their female companion had secretly followed them.
The trio unleashed a vicious surprise attack just after 11 p.m., police say.
Valerie described the stunning violence from the witness stand at a preliminary hearing held Wednesday in Wailuku. “I was thrown to the ground and the bruises on my arm, the bruises on my knee trying to stand up,” she said. “He took the flashlight away from me and just kept yelling, ‘I’ll teach you *** a lesson. I’ll teach you a lesson.'”
The assailants allegedly bashed Alfred in the head several times before he fell to the ground, police say. They also allegedly kicked him repeatedly while he was down, attempted to steal Valerie’s car, and took her flashlight.
Alfred was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center with critical, life-threatening injuries and later died, authorities said. His sister suffered minor injuries.
Koko-Kong and Kealoha-Kaauwai have each been charged with murder, robbery and assault and are being held without bail. Their female companion was arrested in connection with the case and released pending further investigation. Kealoha-Kaauwai has 18 prior convictions, eight of which are felonies, according to HawaiiNewsNow. Koko-Kong has two felony convictions.
“It’s unthinkable what happened,” Alfred’s daughter, Jaime Kaho’ohanohano, told the outlet. “I can’t believe that there are people out there that could be so evil to harm our kupuna. I mean, my dad’s 71.”
Alfred’s nephew, Samuel Kailihiwa, thanked bystanders who intervened in the attack and saved his mother’s life. “My mom could have been another loss,” he said. “Thank God for the Good Samaritans that stepped in and called the cops. Because if not, then my mom probably wouldn’t be here either.”
Alfred’s other daughter, Kalei, described what happened to her father as heinous and said the suspects need to be held accountable. “I don’t know that I’m ready for forgiveness,” she said. “I don’t know that I will be for a long time.”
Members of Maui’s animal rescue community created an online fundraiser to help Kailihiwa’s family, which has already raised more than $45,000. “Alfred is a beloved member of the Maui community, and especially adored by the Maui Cat Community,” the fundraiser states. “He really loved his sister, with whom he lived and trapped, and we’d like to do him right by making this situation a little easier on her.”
In the viral moment that has shaken the island community, Alfred Kailihiwa was doing what he had done thousands of times before — feeding stray cats in the dark hours of the night alongside his sister. The pair were well-known fixtures in Kahului, trapping feral cats to get them fixed at the Maui Humane Society and providing sustenance to roughly 700 animals nightly. Their routine act of compassion turned deadly when a dispute over headlights escalated into a calculated ambush, leaving a family shattered and a community mourning one of its most dedicated kupuna.
The preliminary hearing for Koko-Kong and Kealoha-Kaauwai is scheduled to continue in Wailuku as prosecutors build their murder case against the two men.