23-04-2025
Judge denies bail for woman accused of beating adopted daughter to death
HONOLULU (KHON2) — The woman accused of beating her adopted daughter to death will remain in custody until her trial. A judge made that ruling April 22, even though a lawyer for her other children said the family should be together.
The attorney for Sina Pili asked the court-appointed attorney for her children if she should be allowed to be reunited with them.
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'Um, that's a complicated question,' said Sheri Ritter, attorney and guardian ad Litem. 'Yes. Qualified, I guess.'
Pili is charged with manslaughter for the death of her 11-year old adopted daughter Azaeliyah Pili Ah You in December 2023. Pili has been in custody since being arrested in March. Her attorney has been fighting for her to be released, or at least have her bond reduced.
Pili and her husband Davis Pili have four other adoptive children, all of whom have special needs. The children are currently with grandparents, and only have supervised visits with Davis Pili.
'If you're asking me if the children are in danger with mother, the answer is no,' Ritter said.
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'I think it's important for those children to get some psychological space, and if children especially cannot acknowledge they've seen or endured, they can't start to heal,' said pediatrician Dr. Kayal Natarajan.
Despite Natarajan's input, defense attorney Miles Breiner argued that her lack of a psychological penalty does not give her the authority to make that decision.
'I understand you're a pediatrician, but you're not certified as a psychologist,' Breiner said. 'So you can't render an opinion without violation or your code of ethics regarding any kind of psychiatric evaluation not conducted by you. That's not correct.''I'm not conducting a mental health evaluation, but I can understand when I read them, what they mean,' Natarajan replied.
Judge Rowena Somerville ruled to continue to hold Pili without bail. The key reason, she says, a Honolulu police report where the detective felt the other children were intimidated and were reluctant to come forward to talk about what happened.
'I do have serious concerns that Ms. Pili will continue to obstruct, or attempt to obstruct justice, when it comes to surviving children,' Somerville said.
Pili's trail is scheduled for May.
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