Hawai‘i Island police are renewing their request for the public’s assistance in providing information on the murder of Smriti Saxena, whose body was found on the southern shoreline of ʻAnaehoʻomalu Bay on Wednesday, February 19, 2020.
On February 18, 2020, at approximately 11:20 p.m., 43-year-old Sonam Saxena of Bellevue, Washington, reported his wife, 41-year-old Smriti Saxena, also of Bellevue, Washington, as a missing person.
In that call, he professed his love for Smriti Saxena and pleading for the public’s help locating the mother of their two children.
He also recounted the evening, stating his wife suffered an asthma attack after they took a 20-minute walk to a remote beach after libations at Lava Lava Beach Club. He left her there to fetch her asthma inhaler from their room at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort. When he returned, about 40 to 50 minutes later, he said, there was no sign of Smriti Saxena though her purse, phone, credit card, and driver’s license were all there. He said he returned to the hotel to see if his wife was there, and, after not finding there summonsed help.
“She got an asthma attack right there on the beach and she was feeling weak and she didn’t want to walk all the way back because it’s almost a 20-minute walk back from that beach to our room,” he said. “So I said, ‘Hey, you know what? You stay here, you have your phone with you and I’ll just go to the room, grab your inhaler and pump, and come back.’”
“I did that. Went to the room, picked up the inhaler, came back, and she was missing,” he continued.
“I was disturbed because why would she leave her purse and her phone on the beach and head back to the room? It just seemed really odd,” Sonam said “So I rushed back to the room. I checked the room and I saw that she wasn’t in the room. So I went downstairs and that’s when I dialed 911.”
Sonam said that when the police arrived, he helped them search the beach.
“We called out for her, but there was nothing,” he said. “No response.”
On February 19, 2020, at approximately 7:30 a.m., a female body was located along the Anaehoomalu Bay shoreline. Detectives continued their investigation and were able to confirm that the body was that of Smriti Saxena. An autopsy revealed the manner of death as homicide and Hawaii Police Department states the investigation continues as they await the analysis of the evidence.
Sonam Saxena was arrested under suspicion of second-degree murder and was later released without charges pending further investigation at 1:20 p.m. Friday, February 21, 2020, after the Hawaii Police Department detectives conferred with prosecutors. The release came just 10 minutes before the 48-hour limit to file charges ran up.
Smriti Saxena, a business program manager for Microsoft, and Sonam Saxena, a product manager for Google Cloud had been married for 17 years and shared two children, aged 8 and 13 years old at the time. The entire family had traveled to Hawaii as part of an annual trip they made to the island to celebrate the oldest child’s birthday.
In an interview with Sonam’s cousin, Garvit Gupta, shortly after Sonam’s release. Gupta stated he had spoken to his cousin after he was released from police custody, and Sonam was “still shocked.”
Gupta also fondly remembered Smriti, who he described as a “very nice and kind person,” and expressed doubt that his cousin could have killed his wife.
“They had a very healthy relationship, and both of them loved each other a lot,” Gupta said. “They have two kids, and something like this to be done by my cousin is impossible.”
Hawaii Island Police ask anyone who may have seen or spoken to the Saxenas during this time, or who may have any information about the investigation, to call the police department’s non-emergency number at (808) 935-3311 or Detective Sheldon Nakamoto of the Area II Criminal Investigation Section at (808) 326-4646 ext. 228 or via email at Sheldon.nakamoto@hawaiicounty.gov.
Case Number: 20-014412
Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the island-wide Crime Stoppers number at 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.00. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers does not record calls or subscribe to any Caller ID service. All Crime Stopper’s information is kept confidential.
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