GONOLULU (AP) – The biological sister of a 6-year-old Hawaiian girl who went missing as foster parents told police that her parents forced her to keep it a secret, that Isabella Kahlua was not breathing in a dog cage in a bathroom with an air duct. tape on her mouth and nose.
New details were revealed in documents filed in court on Friday to justify the arrests of Isaac and Lehua Kahlua, who adopted Isabella and her two siblings and were the adoptive parents of another of her biological siblings, on suspicion of second-degree murder.
Kahlua police were told on September 13 that Isabella, who is also referred to by Honolulu police as Ariel Sellers, had gone missing and that they had last seen her sleeping in her room the night before.
Police arrested Kahlua on Wednesday, saying they believed the girl had been killed a month before they reported her missing. But the body was not found.
The parents were held without bail and were due to appear in court on Friday. Their attorney, William Harrison, did not return text and phone messages from the Associated Press asking for comment on the arrests.
During an interview with the detective a week ago, Isabella’s sister said that Kahlua was asked about two months ago to keep a secret what happened: Isabella “was in the bathroom in a dog cage with duct tape on her mouth and nose, and she did not tell.” “Don’t wake up,” police affidavits say in support of Kalua’s arrest warrants.
The sister was identified in court documents only by the initials of the IMC, her age was not disclosed.
During a press conference announcing Kalua’s arrests, police declined to comment on why they believed Isabella was dead. The timing of his sister’s questioning last Friday with the detective coincides with the Honolulu Police Lieutenant’s announcement of the murder of Lieutenant Dean Thommes, which escalated into a murder investigation late last week.
The sister said she knew Isabella was “dead because she was there,” court documents say.
“Lehua then filled the tub with water and put (Isabella) in it to see if she woke up, but it didn’t work,” the documents say.
The documents stated that the sister had to help carry Isabella to their bedroom.
The mother then drained the bath, and a few days later, Isaac Kahlua went to the hospital to “pretend he has COVID,” the documents say.
The sister told the police that she knew he was pretending because he took time off to “help my mother,” the documents say, “to get rid of things … evidence.”
The sister told police that Lehua Kahlua bought a dog cage online even though they did not have a dog. Kahlua said she bought it because Isabella was sneaking around at night and wanted to eat because she was hungry. The sister said that Isabella would be hungry because Kahlua would not feed her, and the sister sometimes tried to secretly deliver food to her, according to court documents.
The sister told the police that Isabella had been kept in a cage that night.
After reporting Isabella’s missing, Lehua Kahlua told police that the girl had a habit of going into the garage and falling asleep, and, according to written testimony, sometimes left the doors unlocked. She also told the police that their home surveillance system was constantly failing.
According to the affidavit, on 13 September, police found surveillance footage showing Isabella was last seen on camera on 18 August.
