4 Oahu Inmates Face Manslaughter Charge In Fellow Prisoner’s Death
Christopher Vaefaga was found unconscious and unresponsive in his cell in a module used to house gang members.
Four Oahu jail inmates were indicted Wednesday on manslaughter charges in the beating death of a fellow prisoner in an alleged gang-related attack last summer.
Christopher Vaefaga, 36, was found unresponsive in his cell in Module 13 of the Oahu Community Correctional Center at about 8:30 p.m. on July 6 with what jail staff described as head injuries.
The case marked the fourth time an inmate was beaten to death in the Hawaii correctional system since 2020.
OCCC is the state’s largest jail, and Vaefaga’s death was followed by a cell-by-cell shakedown in two modules of the jail that uncovered a variety of contraband including cellphones, drugs and drug paraphernalia.
The Oahu grand jury indictment alleges Vaefaga was beaten by Aaron Tuitelapaga, 29; Bronson Tuitelelepaga, 27; and Manu Sorensen, 33. Also indicted was Josiah Palimoomanu, 33.
The manslaughter charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Oahu Circuit Court Judge Ronald Johnson ordered that Tuitelapaga, Tuitelelepaga, and Sorensen be held without bail, and set Palimoomanu鈥檚 bail at $500,000, according to a statement from the Attorney General’s Office.
At the time of Vaefaga’s death, Tuitelapaga and Tuitelelepaga on second-degree murder, robbery and other charges in connection with a of Sausau Josiah Togiai III at an Ala Moana-area game room in 2020.
Sorensen was in the 2018 fatal shooting of Jacob Feliciano at a game room on Kapiolani Boulevard. Palimoomanu is awaiting trial on robbery and assault charges.
Tuitelapaga, Tuitelelepaga and Sorensen are being held at Halawa Correctional Facility. Palimoomanu remains at OCCC.
Vaefaga was killed at the jail while he was awaiting trial on a charges of harassment and second-degree assault involving a victim who was 60 years old or older.
Staff who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren鈥檛 authorized to discuss the case said that Vaefaga was discovered dead in his cell after an unidentified caller contacted the facility to request that corrections officers check on a prisoner who had been beaten.
A corrections officer then checked on Vaefaga, who had apparently been dead for hours, according to staff.
