The 6-year-old girl allegedly murdered by her adoptive parents in Hawaii was starved and kept in a cage with duct tape over her mouth and nose, her older sister told investigators.
The horrifying details were contained in arrest affidavits for Lehua Kalua, 43, and her husband, Isaac K. Kalua III, 52, who reported Isabella missing on Sept. 13, triggering a massive search.
The couple said she had vanished the previous night, but investigators eventually determined that the girl actually had not been seen since mid-August. No body has been found.
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Isabella’s 12-year-old sister told investigators earlier this month that the Kaluas withheld food from the younger girl and then made her sleep in a dog cage so she could not forage for food at night.
Two months ago, the sister said, the parents woke her up in the middle of the night after Isabella was found unresponsive in the cage.
“She went into the bathroom and saw that [Isabella] had duct tape on her nose and mouth, and was not breathing,” the affidavit says.
“Lehua then filled the bathtub with water and put [Isabella] into it to see if she would wake up, but it did not work.”
The older sister then had to carry Isabella’s body into the bedroom and “she was asked to keep a secret by Lehua and Isaac regarding what happened,” the affidavit said.
The sister did not see what happened to Isabella’s body, it said.
The Kaluas have pleaded not guilty. William Harrison, an attorney who is not representing them but has acted as a spokesperson told the Associated Press: “All I can say is I’m obviously saddened by what’s written.”
