HAWAII ISLAND (KHON2) — There are dozens of unsolved murders in Hawaii, but just because a case goes cold doesn’t mean the victim is forgotten.
Big Island Detective Derek Morimoto has made it his mission to uncover the truth in unsolved cases — some of them decades old. He knows he can’t bring the victims back, but said it’s really about giving their families and friends closure.
Investigating cold cases requires patience, tenacity and grit. Characteristics Morimoto has in spades.
“It’s been challenging at times,” Morimoto added. “Rewarding too, I enjoy what I do.”
Morimoto has been a detective with the unsolved homicides unit in East Hawaii since 2016. He said there are more than a dozen unsolved murders in his caseload, but some are especially troubling.
“I would say the Ebisuzaki case is probably the one that bothers me the most and I normally think about all the time,” he said.
On May 1, 1987, 26-year-old Lynn Ebisuzaki was at a friend’s house in Hilo.
She went outside around 9:15 p.m. and never returned. Police later found her body outside the home in the brush, bleeding from an apparent stab wound.
“As we learned more about Lynn, she was not a high-risk, per se victim,” Morimoto said. “Looking back and thinking that all these years have gone by and the person that did that to her is still walking around that motivates me to try and find some answers.”
In February this year, police released this composite sketch after a new tip came in about a man seen arguing with Ebisuzaki at a church before her death.
Morimoto said tips like this help them push forward
“To solve the cases and bring closure finally for these families,” he explained. “I know people may not have been willing to talk then but as time passes by maybe they’d be willing to talk now. If you know something let us know, the family and the victim deserve that.”
In the last decade, Morimoto and the Hawaii Police Department found evidence to resolve several cold cases…including the disappearance and murder of 6-year-old Peter Boy Kema who was reported missing in 1998 and 26-year-old Vallerie Ann Warshay who was murdered in Kalapana in 1978.
“That was just a perfect example of patience and determination paying off,” Capt. Rio Amon-Wilklins said. “It’s a great feeling for the investigators, obviously, to finally get a case like that resolved after so many years.”
Amon-Wilkins heads the Hawaii Police Department Criminal Investigation Division. He said while time creates many challenges for investigators, it does have some benefits.
“There’s also certain advancements in certain technologies with DNA as well as with digital type evidence also can help us with these cases,” he explained.
But no matter how long it takes, he had this message for those still waiting for answers.
“We’re not giving up on these cases,” Amon-Wilkins said.
Anyone with information about what happened to Lynn Ebisuzaki is asked to call Detective Morimoto at 808-961-2380. Those who want to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 808-961-8300.
