A former patient at a Hawaiʻi psychiatric hospital has been arrested in the stabbing death of a 29-year-old nurse at the facility, officials said.
Paramedics responded to the Hawaiʻi State Hospital in Kāneʻohe on Monday where the nurse, a 29-year-old man with multiple stab wounds, was pronounced dead.
State Health Director Dr. Kenneth Fink identified the nurse as Justin Bautista and said he had worked at the hospital for four years.
Honolulu police said a 25-year-old former patient was arrested in the death.
According to the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, the patient was discharged from the hospital in August and was participating in a community transition program that allowed him to leave the site briefly during the day.
That made him no longer a hospital patient, even though he was still on the campus, Dr. Kenneth Luke, the hospital administrator, said at a news conference.
No information was immediately available Tuesday on what the patient used to stab the nurse.
Luke called the stabbing an “unanticipated and unprovoked” incident.
A police arrest log identified the suspect as Tommy Kekoa Carvalho. Police said he was in custody Tuesday, but had not been charged.
The hospital primarily houses patients with significant mental health issues who have been ordered there by the courts after committing crimes. Courts may also order people to stay at the facility while they wait to be evaluated for their mental fitness to stand trial.
Luke said the patient appeared ready for discharge in August and noted that courts issue permission for patients to transition back into the community.
Luke added that it would be a “double tragedy” if the death were to lead to patients remaining institutionalized longer.
“We can not let this get in the way of appropriate transitions,” he said, noting that a safety review of the facility is underway.
