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Inset: Henrietta Stone (Hawaii Police Dept.). Background: Kino’ole Street in Hilo, Hawaii where Stone lived at the time of her granddaughter’s death (Google Maps).
A 67-year-old grandmother in Hawaii will not be going to jail in connection with the death of her 9-year-old granddaughter, who weighed only 45 pounds when she starved in 2016 while in the woman’s care.
Hilo Circuit Court Judge Henry Nakamoto on Thursday ordered Henrietta Stone to serve a sentence of 10 years of probation over the death of young Shaelynn Lehano-Stone, authorities announced. Nakamoto handed down the sentence over the staunch objection of the Hawaii Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, who sought the maximum sentence of 20 years for Stone.
“There aren’t words to describe my disappointment and frustration in the outcome of this case. Shaelynn and our community deserved much better. Her death was caused by the three people, who she should have been able to trust the most,” Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen said in a statement released after the sentencing hearing. “We will not let this result discourage our ongoing efforts to protect our keiki.”
“Keiki” is a Hawaiian word that means “child.”
Stone in February 2024 pleaded no contest to one count of manslaughter for her role in Shaelynn’s death. She had originally been charged with one count of second-degree murder.
Shaelynn’s parents, Kevin Lehano and Tiffany K. Stone, also previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to 10 years of probation, records show. Notably, the victim’s grandmother was her legal guardian at the time of her death.
Prosecutors also emphasized that several of Shaelynn’s teachers and the emergency medical personnel who first treated the victim submitted victim impact statements encouraging the court to sentence Stone to prison. A pre-sentence investigation report also called for the grandmother to serve the maximum sentence.
“Manslaughter carries a penalty of either a twenty-year prison term or ten years probation and up to two years in jail,” the prosecuting attorney’s office said in a news release. “Prosecutors argued for the maximum twenty-year prison penalty.”
Following her initial arrest in 2016, Stone remained in jail until July 2024 when she was released after posting bond of $100,000.
According to a release from the Hawaii Police Department, officers and firefighters on June 28, 2016, responded to a call about an unconscious child at Stone’s home on Kino’ole Street home in Hilo, Hawaii.
“First responders were confronted with what appeared to be a severely malnourished and unconscious young girl lying on the floor within the home,” police said. “She was transported to the Hilo Medical Center where she died a few hours later.”
The Associated Press reported that in the months leading up to Shaelynn’s death, her grandmother had removed her from Hilo Union Elementary so the child could be homeschooled. Additionally, authorities said Stone kept alarms on the refrigerator door to prevent access and noted that Shaelynn’s weight at the time of her death was the same she weighed when she was only 4 years old.
“The cause of death was listed as malnutrition with contributory causes being acute pneumonia and acute pyelonephritis (severe kidney infection),” prosecutors said. “She weighed 45 pounds and was 53 inches tall at the time of her death.”
