Shot by the Shore: Who Killed Gayle Hook? 1973 South Kona Hawaii Cold Case | Revisited: 043

In 1973, Gayle Irene Hook told her roommates she was going to the beach in South Kona. She was young, far from home, living without a car in a time when hitchhiking still felt ordinary. Eight days later, students found her body inside the abandoned Kahikolu Church pavilion in Nāpōʻopoʻo. This fully revisited episode of Beneath the Palms follows the corrected record of Gayle’s unsolved murder: her move from Washington to Hawaii, the beach community around Nāpōʻopoʻo, the early investigation, the attempted-assault lead police examined carefully, the later DNA hopes, and the family grief that never ended. This is not the old shoreline version of the story. Gayle was not found on the beach. She was found in an abandoned church pavilion, and police later believed the killing may have happened somewhere else before her body was left there. If you know anything about Gayle Hook’s murder, contact Hawaii Police. The current cold case record lists the Unsolved Homicides Division at 808-961-2380, and tips may also be made through Crime Stoppers at 808-961-8300. KHON2 also listed [email protected] for information connected to this case. Mahalo to Yoza for the use of “Broken Wings.” Find Yoza on Instagram at @yozamusic and online at yozamusic.com. Sources: Hawaii Police Department: Gayle Hook Murder (A-71462) Hawaii Police Department Media Archives: Detectives re-evaluate 40-year-old cold case 09-03-13 Hawaii News Now: Police seek help solving 40-year-old Big Island murder KHON2 / Hawaii’s Unsolved Murders: Who killed Gayle Hook? Hawaii Police Department: Unsolved Homicides Hawaii Tribune-Herald archive: Dead Woman Found At Napoopoo; May Have Been Shot, April 8, 1973 — archival clipping reviewed via Newspapers.com Hawaii Tribune-Herald archive: Discoverer Of Body Is Not A “Transient,” April 9, 1973 — archival clipping reviewed via Newspapers.com Hawaii Tribune-Herald archive: Police Lack Solid Leads In Slaying Of Girl In Kona, April 11, 1973 — archival clipping reviewed via Newspapers.com Honolulu Star-Bulletin archive: April 1973 Gayle Hook coverage — archival clipping reviewed via Newspapers.com Public social media recollection from Big Island Hawaii - All things Big Island! Facebook group, treated as unverified personal memory #BeneathThePalms #GayleHook #HawaiiTrueCrime #SouthKona #Napoopoo #Kealakekua #BigIslandHawaii #UnsolvedMurder #ColdCase #HawaiiColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #HawaiiPodcast #RevisitedEpisode #Yoza #BrokenWings