Life sentence in 2019 Wahiawa stabbing

HONOLULU (KHON2) — A man who was arrested in November of 2019 for the fatal stabbing of a 45-year-old man has been sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.

Police were called to an apartment complex on Ohai Place in Wahiawa on the night of Nov. 19 where they found the victim, Isaac Lee, with stab wounds after a reported confrontation in which Kai Dela Cruz repeatedly stabbed Lee in the torso.

He later died at the hospital.

The next morning, Dela Cruz returned to the apartment and was arrested and charged with murder in the second-degree.

“Evidence presented during the trial showed the defendant was smoking methamphetamine before he killed the victim by stabbing him repeatedly,” Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm said.

A circuit court jury found Dela Cruz guilty in April.