Big Island special education teacher arrested for allegedly choking a student

HONOLULU (KHON2) – A special education teacher on the Big Island has been arrested for allegedly assaulting one of his students.

The boy’s family says the teacher choked him and threw him against a fence, while an aide assigned to the child did nothing to stop it.

The boy’s mother says the fifth-grader has been traumatized. And he hasn’t been able to go back to school since it happened last week Monday.

“I have all these bruises all around my neck,” said 12-year-old Dashay Souza Nascimento.

His family says he was on a field trip with other special education students at Keaau Elementary School when he started acting up and threw a rock at his teacher. A witness who called the police told Dashay’s mother what happened next.

Store owner raised security concerns at a Maui mall before the fatal stabbing

HONOLULU (KHON2) – Security concerns were raised at a Maui mall even before the brutal attack that killed a man. A store owner says he complained to management about it but his concerns were never taken seriously.

The store owner says his complaints were not taken seriously until the attack happened. He says after that, management made what he considered a threat.

Daniel Norton owns a furniture store called Village Home at Queen Kaahumanu Center. He says more than a week before the fatal stabbing of Eduardo Alejandro Cerezo inside the second floor bathroom of the mall, he complained to mall management about vagrants harassing customers outside the store. But he says management told him to stop complaining.

Hawaii island toddler will be laid to rest, family still waiting for autopsy results

A 3-year-old Hawaii island boy who died while in foster care will be laid to rest this weekend.

It’s been nearly three weeks since Fabian Garett-Garcia died at North Hawaii Community Hospital in Waimea.

But questions still surround his death.

According to the family’s attorney, an autopsy on the toddler has been done, but the medical examiner is not releasing the results.

The family has not been told why.

“The sooner we see that autopsy report, the sooner my client either can get closure on arguably the worst thing a parent can go through, which is the loss of a child, or there’s new information that might be useful for us in moving forward and holding anyone responsible,” said attorney Jeffrey Foster.

Parents urge public to come forward as investigation continues into toddler’s death

The Hawaii island family whose 3-year-old boy died while in foster care is seeking answers, and hopes someone out there has information on their son’s last days.

On Tuesday, a judge lifted parts of a gag order, which means the family is now allowed to talk.

The Hawaii Police Department says on July 25, paramedics were called to the foster home in Waimea, where they tried to revive Fabian Garett-Garcia, who was not breathing. The toddler was rushed to North Hawaii Community Hospital where he died.