WAILUKU - After being released from the hospital Monday, a 38-year-old Santa Cruz, Calif., man was booked at the Wailuku Police Station on a no-bail warrant in connection with the killing of a woman whose body was found Sept. 1 near Nakalele Point.
Gerald Galaway Jr. is charged with second-degree murder, kidnapping and attempted first-degree sexual assault of 35-year-old Celestial Cassman, also of Santa Cruz.
He was scheduled to be arraigned this morning in 2nd Circuit Court.
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Gerald Galaway Jr. and Celestial Cassman are shown in a photo posted July 23 on his Facebook page. Galaway is charged with murder and other crimes in connection with the killing of Cassman.
Police said Galaway and Cassman arrived on Maui on Aug. 31 and were staying together at a Kaanapali hotel. Cassman was deputy city attorney for Santa Cruz and two other coastal California towns.
According to his Facebook page, Galaway works as a behavior technician for a middle school autistic student at Easter Seals in Santa Cruz. His Facebook page also includes several photos of him and Cassman together, and he posted on July 23 that he was "in a relationship."
Police found Cassman's body after responding to a report of a man trying to kill a woman and dragging her down cliffs near Mile Marker 38 on Kahekili Highway near Nakalele Point before 6:30 p.m. Sept. 1, according to police reports.
When officers arrived in the area, they saw and called out to Galaway, who was wearing only a shirt, according to police reports. He turned and ran before jumping off a 100-foot cliff into the ocean. He swam out to a rocky outcropping, where he remained overnight until being retrieved by police and firefighters aboard a helicopter at 6:45 a.m. the next day, police said.
Police said an autopsy done last Tuesday showed Cassman died of asphyxiation.
Galaway was arrested at about 1:10 p.m. Friday after a Maui County grand jury indicted him on the charges that morning, police said. He remained hospitalized at Maui Memorial Medical Center through the weekend, and after being released, he was taken at about 2:50 p.m. Monday to the police station for processing.
Maui police spokesman Lt. Wayne Ibarra said Galaway was being held in the police cellblock Monday afternoon.
