The smiles in a 1991 portrait of Peter Boy Kema, center, and his half siblings Chauntelle, left, and Allan don’t show a life at an abusive home, but filings in Family Court do. Advertiser Library Photo

In disturbing detail, two siblings of missing abuse victim Peter Boy Kema are saying the Hilo child was starved, forced to sleep outside and driven around in a locked car trunk, according to a recent Family Court document obtained by The Honolulu Advertiser.

The confidential report, a Supplemental Safe Family Home Report, was filed last month as part of an ongoing custody battle for Peter Boy’s three siblings — an 11-year-old boy, a 9-year-old girl and a 5-year-old girl. They have been in protective foster custody on the Big Island since mid-April.

The older siblings shared their stories with their foster mother, who reported them to a social worker with the state Department of Human Services. Their account of the boy’s life are among the most startling allegations that have surfaced since the case became public seven months ago.

Among the statements is one by their foster mother, who said “both children are realizing the pain that Peter Boy went through and they are sometimes very sad and have tears in their eyes when they speak of these things.”

The children’s parents — Peter Kema Sr. and Jaylin Kema — have said very little about the case, but insist they never harmed him in any way.

Other family members say they have not seen Peter Boy since February 1997. Some fear the 7-year-old boy is dead and many questioned the explanation given by his father.

Kema said he gave his son to a family friend named Auntie Rose Makuakane whom he met while job-hunting on Oahu in August 1997. He was running out of money and living in Aala Park, so Kema felt the boy would be better off with the woman.

But no one has heard from her since then and police have been unable to prove Makuakane exists. Police and a state social worker convinced the child’s mother, Jaylin Kema, to file a missing person investigation in January.

Fed by force

This September, while driving to the grocery store, the two older children started telling their foster mother about how Peter Boy was always hungry, the report states.

They said their brother was rarely given much to eat, but sometimes his mother, Jaylin Kema, would “force-feed him until he vomited,” the document states.

They said Peter Boy often slept outside without a pillow, blanket or jacket and that when he did sleep inside, it was sometimes on a hallway or bathroom floor. The children said they did not know why this happened “and were afraid to ask for fear that they would be hit or punished in the same way.”

Sometimes the boy was handcuffed, his sister said. Sometimes he would be tied to the girl’s bedpost and the two children would talk.

“Peter Boy said he wished that he was not there,” the document states. “He did not cry when she (his sister) was talking to him but Peter Boy did cry often about the continual punishments.”

His brother told the foster mother that Peter Boy was tied to the bed so he couldn’t get food from the kitchen.

Once, a mosquito bite on Peter Boy’s left arm became infected because he kept scratching it, the children said. It turned into a big hole on his arm that spread to his wrist, the report says.

“It really stank and it had a lot of pus,” the report states.

Locked in trunk

On another trip with their foster mother about a week after the September conversation, according to the report, the siblings said: “Peter Boy was locked in the trunk of the car a lot — when we went to the beach and other times. They put a lot of blankets over Peter Boy and it was hot in the trunk. We were afraid we would be locked in the trunk too. Peter Boy would cry all the time.”

The five-page document was submitted to Big Island Family Court Judge Ben Gaddis by Aley K. Auna Jr., a deputy attorney general in Hilo. Attorneys for Peter and Jaylin Kema and the children’s maternal grandparents also received copies.

The Kemas were the focus of an earlier Child Protective Services investigation that began in 1991, when all four children were taken away and placed in foster custody. The Family Court reunited the family, however, and closed the case on Oct. 31, 1995.

Ongoing investigation

What impact, if any, the report may have is unclear. Big Island detectives insist that they are still pursuing a missing person investigation, but admit they have been frustrated by a lack of cooperation from Peter and Jaylin Kema. Neither will speak to police without their attorneys present.

Hawaii County Prosecutor Jay Kimura said yesterday that he has not seen the Family Court document and would not comment on whether he had heard of the allegations. He said Hilo police used an FBI specialist from the Mainland to interview the children.

“What you have to understand is that children who have been in a very violent home are very reluctant to talk about their experiences,” Kimura said. “And as for testimony that comes from children, we try to avoid creating an atmosphere to suggest what might have occurred. In this case, I know the police have been very careful to obtain as much accurate information as possible.”

Attorney Steven Strauss, who represents Peter Kema Sr., said that court rules prevent him from discussing the case or any allegations.

“The records in this case are confidential,” he said. “My client remains hopeful that Peter Boy will turn up. But he is discouraged by the delay in finding him.”

Anger, frustration

The entire case has kept family members trapped in an emotional nightmare. They go from anger to dread to frustration, said Lee Ann Kobayashi, the older sister of Peter Kema Sr.

Before yesterday, she had never heard of the siblings’ allegations. The report left her nearly speechless in her Kona home.

Kobayashi last saw Peter Boy in her home in February 1997. Family members had seen bruises on the boy and believed they were not accidental, she said. And there was something awful about the homemade bandages on his left arm, she said.

Relatives had long questioned Peter and Jaylin Kema about what was going on, but never received a satisfactory answer, Kobayashi said.

“Deep down inside we knew that something was wrong,” she said. “A part of me still feels that at the time he was in my home, I should have fought more to keep him. If I knew what I know now, I would have fought my brother more. It is ‘should have, could have,’ but it still eats me up on the inside.”

Not a day passes that Kobayashi doesn’t think about Peter Boy. Sometimes she also thinks about her brother, who months ago ceased communication with all family members.

And in her darkest moments, she said, Kobayashi wonders who, if anyone, could have harmed her nephew.

“Since day one, I have been wondering and wondering,” she said. “I haven’t come to terms with this.”

[ top ]