Eight years after filing a wrongful-death lawsuit, the siblings of Peter Kema Jr., also known as “Peter Boy,” are still trying to hold the state accountable for its role in the death of their brother, who was tortured and killed by their father in 1997.
A settlement conference has been scheduled for July 30 in the case by Honolulu Circuit Judge James Ashford. A civil trial is scheduled for Sept. 28 in case an out-of-court settlement isn’t reached by then.
The state in 2021 appealed a ruling by the Circuit Court that Kema’s estate and siblings — Chauntelle Acol, Allan Acol and Lina Acol — had standing to sue and weren’t subject to a two-year statute of limitation after the boy’s death to file a lawsuit.
The Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled last year that since the siblings were minors when the boy was killed and the boy’s death was fraudulently concealed by his parents until 2016, their standing was intact and the case was remanded to the Circuit Court for a possible trial.
“What the state did was terrible. The liability is obvious,” said Randall Rosenberg, lawyer for the siblings and the estate of Kema Jr. “This kid was tortured for years.”
A Hilo grand jury indicted Kema and her husband, Peter Kema Sr., in April 2016 for the death of Peter Boy, a chronically abused 6-year-old boy whose disappearance 29 years ago sparked a statewide media firestorm.
Authorities had long believed the boy was dead, although no body had been found.
Kema Sr. had told police he had left the child in 1997 with “Aunty Rose Makuakane” as a hanai, or informal 91直播an adoption.
Authorities didn’t believe the story, couldn’t find the woman who was allegedly given the boy, and couldn’t find any evidence Kema Sr. and Kema Jr. flew from 91直播 Island to Oahu.
Peter Boy’s mother, Jaylin Kema, who died in 2019 of kidney failure, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in December 2016.
“I failed to protect my son,” Jaylin Kema said, tearfully, in court.
She was sentenced in June 2017 to 10 years of probation and a year in jail, time she had already served.
Kema Sr. pleaded guilty to manslaughter and first-degree hindering prosecution in April 2017 as part of a deal with prosecutors. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in July 2017 and remains incarcerated at Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Ariz.
Peter Boy’s body was never found, but the Kemas admitted the child died of septic shock after they failed to provide sufficient medical treatment for an injury to his arm, which was caused by Kema Sr.
Kema Sr.’s plea deal called for him to show authorities where he left Peter Boy’s body, and if no remains were found, to pass a polygraph test.
Kema took police and prosecutors to a remote area of Puna coastline near MacKenzie State Recreation Area, where he said he set the boy’s body adrift in a cardboard box after an unsuccessful attempt to incinerate the remains.
The siblings’ lawsuit alleges negligence by the state and DHS Child Protective Services workers for returning Peter Boy to the care of his parents, despite evidence of abuse.
While they were in CPS custody, Peter Boy and his siblings were cared for by Jaylin Kema’s parents, Jimmy and Yolanda Acol, both deceased — who, by all accounts, provided a loving home for their grandchildren.
Rosenberg said the Kema case resulted in the state making “changes in the system since this all happened back in ’97.”
“I don’t know that all the changes are great changes, but some of them are important,” Rosenberg said. “Like before, reunification (with birth parents) was the No. 1 goal. … After he disappeared, they made the priority safety, which should’ve been the priority all along.”
Rosenberg said all three of Peter Boy’s siblings are now parents.
“They’re in various stages of life, but they seem to be very good parents. And that’s a blessing,” he said.
Rosenberg said the state has made a monetary offer to settle, but “it isn’t enough.”
“I don’t know that the state has learned its lesson,” he said. “Here on Oahu, there’s a bunch of agencies that provide services. The state contracts with them. And the problem I’ve seen between the agencies and the Department of Human Services is just really lax. They’re not sharing information. They’re not paying attention.
“There are other bad cases, including child deaths and foster parents who tortured the child before they were murdered.”
Rosenberg pointed to the cases of Ariel Sellers, also known as Isabella Kalua, and Geanna Bradley, two Oahu girls prosecutors say died after being tortured and starved by their caregivers — Sellers by adoptive parents Isaac Kalua III and Isabella Kalua, and Bradley by Brandy Blas, Thomas Blas and Debra Geron, her legal guardians.
All defendants have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, and their criminal cases are active in Honolulu Circuit Court.
“These cases are difficult. The emotional content is high, and they keep coming,” Rosenberg said.
Rosenberg said that for the Kema civil suit, he’s enlisted the services of Keith Hunter, whom he described as “the best mediator you can get in 91直播.”
According to Rosenberg, the state is self-insured for up to $2 million, but its commercial insurers are “out there, and they’ve hovering around the negotiations.”
“It’s a little different dealing with the state’s insurance company,” he said. “And they’re going to be the ones deciding if this case settles or not.”
Toni Schwartz, spokeswoman for the Department of the Attorney General, said it’s the department’s policy “not to comment on pending litigation.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
