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Inset: Sina Pili (Kahuku High and Intermediate School). Background: Kahuku High and Intermediate School, where Pili worked and was arrested (KITV).
A 39-year-old mother in Hawaii is accused of killing her 11-year-old adopted daughter, allegedly punching and slapping the child for a half hour straight until she ultimately died.
Sina Pili was indicted by a grand jury and taken into custody Friday on one count each of manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a minor, and persistent nonsupport in the slaying of Azaeliyah Pili-Ah You, authorities announced.
According to Lieutenant Deena Thoemmes of the Honolulu Police Department, officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel on Dec. 22, 2023 responded to a report of an unresponsive juvenile female at a home in Laie. The fire department was first on the scene and apparently found Azaeliyah’s father performing lifesaving procedures on the victim at the direction of the 911 dispatcher.
Paramedics rushed the victim to Kahuku Hospital where she was pronounced dead. A determination about the manner and cause of death were delayed pending further testing.
Officers at the scene allegedly saw bruises and Azaeliyah’s body. Both parents allegedly denied having knowledge about how the child sustained the injuries, suggesting they may have come from playing sports or a possible fall in the shower.
As homicide detectives investigated Azaeliyah’s death, child abuse detectives began looking into the possible abuse of Pili’s four other adopted children, all of whom were 12 and under.
In the days before her death, Azaeliyah stayed home from school multiple times due to illness, at one point registering a fever of 101 degrees, Thoemmes said during a Friday news conference.
On the morning of Azaeliyah’s death, Pili allegedly forced the victim to run to a nearby chapel, despite the fact that she still felt ill.
“On the day that Azaeliyah died, after Sina [Pili] made her run to and from the chapel, Sina [Pili] slapped and punched Azaeliyah multiple times over a period of approximately 30 minutes,” Thoemmes said.
The medical examiner detailed Azaeliyah’s injuries, including “extensive bruising” that Thoemmes said went so deep that it “penetrated the skin” and “could be seen reaching the diaphram.”
“Multiple abrasions to the face, head, neck, chest, back, arms, hands and legs,” Thoemmes said. “Wounds to the nose consistent with being bitten. A linear abrasion to the outside of the neck and internal injuries to the inside of the neck, likely from strangulation. Two rib fractures. Hemorrhage under the scalp, at the top of her head.”
The autopsy further showed that Azaeliyah had tested positive for COVID and influenza A, and that she had pneumonia.
“Child torture is insidious. It is gradual, calculated, and systematic, and intended to break its victims completely,” Thoemmes said. “Its effects are deliberate and devastating.
Pili has a master’s degree in social work and taught a class at Brigham Young University-Hawaii as an adjunct professor, Honolulu CBS affiliate KGMB reported. Following Pili’s arrest, the university confirmed to the station that Pili’s contract had been terminated and her image was removed from the school’s website.
She was also employed as a behavioral health specialist at Kahuku High and Intermediate School, which is where she was arrested Friday afternoon, Honolulu ABC affiliate KITV reported.
Pili is currently being held in police custody without bond and is scheduled to appear in court for her arraignment on March 13.
Azaeliyah’s adoptive father has not been arrested in connection with her death but remains under investigations, authorities said.
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