Beneath the Palms: Hawaii's Darkest True Crime and Mysteries

Jacquelyn Glenn missing in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii: This episode examines the disappearance of 82-year-old Jacquelyn “Jackie” Glenn, last seen on December 5, 2025, on Nani Kailua Drive in Kona after reportedly mentioning a trip toward Hilo. The official record is spare. The silence around it is not.In this episode of Beneath the Palms, we stay with the verified timeline first, then carefully separate the public unease that grew around Jackie’s disappearance. Where the record is thin, conflicting, or unconfirmed, that is said plainly. Nothing outside the verified lane is presented as fact.If you have information in Jacquelyn Glenn’s case, contact the Hawaiʻi Police Department non-emergency line at 808-935-3311 and reference report number 25-111101.Sources:https://www.hawaiipolice.gov/police-seek-missing-elderly-kona-woman-jacquelyn-glenn/https://www.hawaiipolice.gov/police-renew-request-for-information-on-missing-elderly-kona-woman-jacquelyn-glenn/https://www.hawaiipolice.gov/police-renew-request-for-information-on-missing-elderly-kona-woman-jacquelyn-glenn-2/https://bigislandnow.com/2025/12/10/police-in-search-of-missing-82-year-old-last-seen-in-kona/https://bigislandnow.com/2026/01/05/hawaii-island-police-renew-request-for-help-finding-missing-elderly-kona-woman/https://bigislandnow.com/2026/01/27/hawaii-island-police-renew-request-for-help-finding-missing-kupuna/https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/01/06/hawaii-island-asks-publics-assistance-finding-elderly-woman-jacquelyn-glenn/?outputType=amphttps://www.crimeonline.com/2025/12/18/bolo-homicide-investigation-launched-as-police-search-for-missing-hawaii-woman/https://www.reddit.com/r/BigIsland/comments/1pjftpi/please_help_us_find_ms_jackie_glenn/Additional public Facebook and Instagram community appeals were referenced only in the clearly separated public-commentary portion of the episode.#JacquelynGlenn #MissingPerson #KailuaKona #BigIsland #HawaiiTrueCrime #BeneathThePalms

Jason Nam murder case. In this revisited Hawaii true crime episode, we examine the unsolved 2006 killing of 31-year-old Jason Nam, who was shot in broad daylight while washing his car outside his South Beretania Street apartment in Honolulu. Nearly two decades later, the case remains open, the suspects have never been publicly identified, and Jason’s family is still waiting for answers.This episode stays with the verified record first: the stolen Nissan Maxima, the three masked men, the witness who saw part of one suspect’s face, the burned getaway car found later in Mililani, and the years of silence that turned this killing into one of Honolulu’s haunting unsolved murder cases. We also revisit the public rumors carefully and keep them separate from fact.Jason was more than a cold case. He was a son, a brother, Sandra Pratt’s high school sweetheart, and a man with plans for a future that should have been much longer. If you know anything about the murder of Jason Nam, please contact Honolulu CrimeStoppers at (808) 955-8300.Sources used in this episode:Jason Nam — Honolulu Police Department⁠https://www.honolulupd.org/cold-case/jason-nam/⁠Shooting victim’s fiancee pleads for closure in case — Honolulu Star-Bulletin⁠https://archives.starbulletin.com/2006/04/10/news/story03.html⁠Motive, suspects prove elusive in Makiki slaying — The Honolulu Advertiser⁠https://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Apr/10/ln/FP604100337.html⁠Police, Family Still Searching for Answers in Murder — Hawaii News Now⁠https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/4751124/police-family-still-searching-for-answers-in-murder/⁠Parents, police seek new leads in decade-old murder case — Hawaii News Now⁠https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/31442386/parents-police-seek-new-leads-in-decade-old-murder-case/⁠#JasonNam #HonoluluColdCase #HawaiiTrueCrime #UnsolvedMurder #BeneathThePalms

Dawn Momohara murder. McKinley High School murder. Honolulu cold case. Hawaii true crime. In this Beneath the Palms episode, we revisit the 1977 killing of 16-year-old Dawn Momohara, found dead on campus at McKinley High School on March 21, 1977. Nearly 48 years later, advances in DNA testing helped investigators arrest former McKinley student Gideon Castro in Utah. Then the case shifted again, leaving Dawn’s family, classmates, and Honolulu still waiting for a final courtroom ending.This episode traces Dawn’s life, the night she vanished, the evidence left behind, the long cold-case silence, the DNA breakthrough, the Utah arrest, the extradition decision, and the release that pushed the case back into uncertainty. If you’re searching for Dawn Momohara, Gideon Castro, McKinley High School murder, Honolulu murder case, Oahu cold case, or Hawaii cold case DNA arrest, this episode is built to give you the clearest public-record timeline we have right now.If this story stays with you, follow Beneath the Palms on Spotify and wherever you listen. If you know something that has never been said out loud, CrimeStoppers Honolulu is 808-955-8300.Sources:Honolulu Police Department — Dawn Momohara cold case page — https://www.honolulupd.org/cold-case/dawn-momohara/Hawaii News Now — Suspect arrested in 1977 cold case murder of McKinley High student — https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/01/22/suspect-arrested-1977-cold-case-murder-mckinley-high-student/Hawaii News Now — Suspect in 1977 murder of McKinley High student will be extradited to Hawaii — https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/02/27/suspect-1977-murder-mckinley-high-student-will-be-extradited-hawaii/Hawaii News Now — Judge orders release of McKinley High cold case murder suspect — https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/03/14/judge-orders-release-mckinley-high-cold-case-murder-suspect/Honolulu Civil Beat — Grim Memories Resurface After Police Arrest Suspect In 1977 Hawaiʻi Murder — https://www.civilbeat.org/2025/01/grim-memories-resurface-after-police-arrest-suspect-in-1977-hawai%CA%BBi-murder/Honolulu Civil Beat — Utah Judge Orders Release Of Suspect In 1977 Hawai‘i Killing After Prosecution Stalls — https://www.civilbeat.org/2025/03/utah-judge-orders-release-of-suspect-in-1977-hawaii-killing-after-prosecution-stalls/Courthouse News Service — Honolulu won’t extradite suspect in 1977 murder case, needs more time to investigate — https://www.courthousenews.com/honolulu-wont-extradite-suspect-in-1977-murder-case-needs-more-time-to-investigate/Associated Press — Grim memories resurface after DNA advances lead to arrest of suspect in Hawaii teen’s 1977 murder — https://apnews.com/article/6c877c9d710a44e7ab57ca42edfed988The Pinion — Dawn Momohara — https://mhspinion.com/features/2025/03/21/dawn-momohara/#DawnMomohara #GideonCastro #McKinleyHighSchool #HonoluluTrueCrime #HawaiiColdCase #OahuTrueCrime #BeneathThePalms #TrueCrimePodcast #ColdCase

The Diane Suzuki disappearance remains one of Hawaii’s most haunting cold cases. In July 1985, 19-year-old University of Hawaii student, Rainbow dancer, and part-time dance instructor Diane Suzuki vanished in broad daylight after finishing class at the Rosalie Woodson Dance Academy in Aiea, Hawaii. Her purse, keys, and car were left behind, and her body has never been found.This episode revisits the Diane Suzuki case with a deeper, fact-based look at the tight timeline, the island-wide search across Oahu, the later discovery of blood in the studio bathroom, the long focus on a person of interest, and the grand jury process that still ended without charges. Where the record is strong, we stay with it. Where the record thins, we say so plainly.If you remember Aiea, Pearl City, Halawa, the Rosalie Woodson Dance Academy, or anything connected to Diane Suzuki’s disappearance on July 6, 1985, even a small memory may still matter. Follow Beneath the Palms on Spotify, Apple, or Amazon, and share this episode with someone who remembers Hawaii in the mid-1980s.Sources used:University of Hawaii student Diane Suzuki, 19, vanishes in broad daylight — https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/07/09/university-hawaii-student-diane-suzuki-19-vanishes-broad-daylight/A major break in the case turns Diane Suzuki’s disappearance into a homicide — https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/07/09/major-break-case-turns-diane-suzukis-disappearance-into-homicide/‘Unexplained fingernail scratches’ lead to person of interest, backyard search for Diane Suzuki — https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/07/09/unexplained-fingernail-scratches-lead-person-interest-backyard-search-diane-suzuki/Grand jury reviews evidence in Diane Suzuki’s murder case — https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/07/09/grand-jury-reviews-evidence-diane-suzukis-murder-case/Can new technology help authorities find who killed Diane Suzuki? — https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/07/09/can-new-technology-help-authorities-find-who-killed-diane-suzuki/40 years after Diane Suzuki’s disappearance, her high school sweetheart opens up about the painful loss — https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/07/08/40-years-after-diane-suzukis-disappearance-her-high-school-sweetheart-opens-up-about-painful-loss/Whatever Happened... Lack of evidence halts Suzuki case — https://archives.starbulletin.com/2000/05/03/news/whatever.htmlDiane Yayoe Suzuki — https://charleyproject.org/case/diane-yayoe-suzukiWhat School You Went? Diane Suzuki — https://www.pbshawaii.org/wsyw02022022-dianesuzuki/#DianeSuzuki #HawaiiColdCase #Aiea #UnsolvedMurder

In this episode of Beneath the Palms, we revisit the unsolved murder of Leilani Castro Kim, a 44-year-old mother of three who had recently moved from Hilo to Kona and just started a new job at the Kona Hilton, now the Royal Kona Resort. On August 1, 1978, she was found murdered in her hotel room bathtub in Kailua-Kona. More than four decades later, the case remains unsolved.This is a fact-based retelling built on the public record. We stay close to what Hawaii Police says happened, where the timeline is clear, and where it still isn’t. We also step carefully into the public chatter around the case, but only with clear boundaries between what is verified and what is not.Leilani was known as an outgoing and successful businesswoman. Before Kona, she had owned a jewelry store at Hilo Mall and worked as a top sales agent for an insurance company in Hilo. She had gone to her high school reunion just days before her death. Then, in the middle of starting over, her life was cut short.If you were on the Big Island in the summer of 1978, knew Leilani, worked at the Kona Hilton, or remember anything that may matter now, Hawaii Police still wants to hear from you. Unsolved Homicides Division: (808) 961-2380. Crime Stoppers: (808) 961-8300.Sources used in this episode:Hawaii Police Department — Leilani Kim Murder (B-24897)https://www.hawaiipolice.gov/leilani-kim-b-24897/Hawaii Police Department — Unsolved Homicideshttps://www.hawaiipolice.gov/news-and-media/unsolved-homicides/Hawaii Police Department — Submit a Tip About an Unsolved Homicidehttps://www.hawaiipolice.gov/news-and-media/unsolved-homicides/submit-a-tip-about-an-unsolved-homicide/Honolulu Civil Beat — The Miske Criminal Enterprise May Be Gone But Other Powerful Crime Networks Remainhttps://www.civilbeat.org/2024/07/the-miske-criminal-enterprise-may-be-gone-but-other-powerful-crime-networks-remain/#LeilaniCastroKim #UnsolvedMurder #KonaHilton #HawaiiTrueCrime

Lisa Au murder. Hawaii cold case. Oahu, January 1982. A 19-year-old Kailua hairdresser disappears in a storm after leaving Makiki, her car turns up in Maunawili, and 10 days later her body is found off Tantalus Drive. In this Beneath the Palms episode, we revisit the unsolved Lisa Au case and the investigation that may have gone wrong from the very beginning.This episode follows the verified timeline: Lisa leaving work at the Susan Beers Salon, stopping to buy poke, driving home through flooding rain, the flooded Toyota with the dry purse, the public fear tied to blue lights and a suspected police stop, and the later evidence that complicated that theory. This is a fact-first look at one of Honolulu’s most haunting unsolved murders.If you remember the Lisa Au case, or if one detail has stayed with you all these years, you can contact Honolulu CrimeStoppers at 808-955-8300 or submit an anonymous tip at www.honolulucrimestoppers.org. The case remains open, and even now one small piece of information could matter.Sources:Hawaii News Now — 37 years ago, her murder gripped Oahu. But from the start, the investigation went astray https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/04/17/years-ago-her-murder-gripped-oahu-start-investigation-went-astray-2/Hawaii News Now — PODCAST: On ‘The Other Side of Paradise,’ the ongoing quest for the truth in Lisa Au’s murder https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2021/05/26/podcast-other-side-paradise-explores-what-ex-police-chief-will-encounter-prison-4/The Daily Beast — Lisa Au murder in Oahu, Hawaii still haunts Honolulu Police Department https://www.thedailybeast.com/lisa-au-murder-in-oahu-hawaii-still-haunts-honolulu-police-departmentHonolulu Police Department — Cold Cases https://www.honolulupd.org/information/cold-cases/CrimeStoppers Honolulu — CrimeStoppers Honolulu https://www.honolulucrimestoppers.org/#LisaAu #HawaiiColdCase #HonoluluTrueCrime #BeneathThePalms