Hawaiʻi Island Police have not identified the three elderly men who were killed over the past two days in the Puna District, but a friend of two of the victims said they were Bob Shine and Chitta Morse.
“When I heard my friend Bob died, at that point it sounded like an accident,” Hyatt said Wednesday. “He was found in a catchment tank. You know, (expletive) happens. But then I learned Chitta was killed, and not only just killed, but like hacked up.”
Hyatt said Morse was known as the “guru of permaculture out here in Puna. Permaculture. You know, just living off the land. He was such a cool dude.”
Hyatt said Shine was a transplant from the mainland. “He was just a really nice, sweet guy. I mean, he’s a little eclectic and a little ecentric, but I mean it just added to his charm.”
Both men lived with 500 yards or so of each other near Papaya Farms Road, a rural area that is located behind miles of lava fields in Kapoho about 10 miles east of Pāhoa. Residents are often living off grid and service is spotty at best.
“I hope they get this guy,” Hyatt said. “Puna has so many crazy (expletives) out here.”
