WAILUKU - A Wailuku man and woman charged with second-degree murder in the death of his 4-year-old son were released from jail Tuesday while an investigation continues in the case.
Kyle McKeown, 32, and his live-in girlfriend, Grace Lee-Nakamoto, 27, were ordered to have no contact with any minor children, as part of their release on their own recognizance pending a preliminary hearing at 3:30 p.m. July 2 in Family Court.
McKeown and Lee-Nakamoto were arrested after they took an unresponsive Zion McKeown to the Maui Memorial Medical Center emergency room at 10:55 p.m. May 29.
The boy died at 4:30 a.m. May 30, with preliminary findings of an autopsy showing the cause of death was blunt force trauma to his lower abdomen, "with the injuries most likely coming from someone stomping on him while he was lying on the ground," according to an affidavit filed in the case.
Other residents at the Hale Kono apartments on Vineyard Street, where McKeown, Lee-Nakamoto and Zion were living, said that McKeown didn't appear to be working.
A preliminary hearing for McKeown and Lee-Nakamoto originally was scheduled for Tuesday.
While he had wanted to go forward with the hearing, First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Robert Rivera said the investigation was still ongoing and asked that the defendants be released.
"There's further investigation that needs to be completed," he said after the court hearing.
In court, Rivera asked for the conditions on the defendants' release, including the requirement that McKeown and Lee-Nakamoto have no contact with minors and not live in a household where they are minors. That should apply to McKeown's two sons with his former wife, Rivera said.
Noting that McKeown had anticipated moving back in with his ex-wife if released, Family Court Judge Mimi DesJardins asked McKeown if he understood the requirement that he have no contact with any minor children.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied.
DesJardins also ordered McKeown and Lee-Nakamoto to have no contact with each other. The two were ordered to turn in any passports to the Maui Police Department by 9 a.m. today.
Deputy Public Defender William "Pili" McGrath, representing Lee-Nakamoto, said he informed her that "her continued freedom hinges on obeying the court's orders."
