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Man is reindicted for murder in death of 4-year-old son

Kyle McKeown

WAILUKU — After being released from jail in April, a man has been indicted again on a murder charge in the death of his 4-year-old son.

Kyle McKeown, 38, pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder charge during his appearance Thursday in 2nd Circuit Court.

He remains free on supervision pending a further bail hearing June 28.

McKeown and his then-live-in girlfriend, Grace Lee-Nakamoto, 33, were arrested after they took his unresponsive son, Zion, to the Maui Memorial Medical Center emergency room at 10:55 p.m. May 29, 2012. The boy was pronounced dead at 4:30 a.m. the next day, with an autopsy showing he died of blunt force trauma to his lower abdomen, according to police.

McKeown had been in jail, unable to post bail, for more than five years while awaiting trial in the case before he was released April 17 after the prosecution asked that the case be dismissed without prejudice pending further investigation.

In a new Maui County grand jury indictment returned May 18, McKeown and Lee-Nakamoto are charged with causing Zion’s death by inflicting injury on him or by failing to seek timely medical attention for him from May 21 to 29, 2012.

The indictment also includes an enhanced sentencing provision because the victim was 8 years old or younger. A conviction for second-degree murder carries a penalty of life in prison with the possibility of parole. Under enhanced sentencing, the penalty would be life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In court Thursday, First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Robert Rivera asked that bail for McKeown be set at $100,000, as it had been before he was released.

Defense attorney Matthew Nardi asked that McKeown be released on supervision or on his own recognizance.

Before being released from jail April 17, McKeown “was in custody for an extremely long time, over five years,” Nardi said.

He said McKeown had no misconduct violations while in jail, and Nardi said he wanted to make sure that McKeown “doesn’t sit in jail unnecessarily.”

“There’s going to be a lot of new legal ground for me to investigate,” Nardi said. “I don’t see this case proceeding quickly.”

McKeown appeared voluntarily in court Thursday, Nardi said. “He’s here today, so we know he’s not a flight risk,” Nardi said.

McKeown had obtained a job two days after being released from jail and got an apartment, he said.

“While he was out, there was absolutely nothing holding him from going to another state or out of the country,” Nardi said. “We were confident this would be recharged, although we hoped not.”

Rivera said it was “inconceivable” to the state to ask for release without posting bail in a murder case.

Most of the previous delays in McKeown’s trial were at the request of the defense to accommodate its expert witness, he said. “It was a choice the defendant made,” Rivera said.

Judge Richard Bissen asked why the case hadn’t gone to trial as scheduled in May.

“There were some issues with the current indictment that the state felt it had to correct,” Rivera said.

He said that was the only instance in the five years that the delay could be attributed to the prosecution.

Nardi said Lee-Nakamoto, who was indicted with McKeown, had been released from jail early in the case. Court records show she was released on supervision in April 2013.

“When I read this indictment, I don’t see anything different,” Nardi said. “I don’t think this necessarily had to be reindicted.”

Bissen said he would consider the issue of bail for McKeown at the next hearing, when co-defendant Lee-Nakamoto is set to be arraigned on the new indictment.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.

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