Albert Harry Pacheco Sr. was 68 and lived in Hilo. He was found dead in the driver’s seat of his vehicle on a banana farm along Kauhiula Road above Alae Cemetery on Sunday afternoon, December 3, 2023; the call came in shortly before 4:45 p.m. Officers who arrived found him inside the parked car and initially saw nothing at the scene that immediately suggested violence.

An autopsy on December 8 revealed a single gunshot wound to his upper thigh area. The death was ruled a homicide and classified as second-degree murder, after which detectives re-examined the scene and expanded inquiries. Investigators interviewed farm employees, checked neighboring properties, and spoke with friends and family while trying to reconstruct his last movements; by May 2024 police said no motive or suspect had been identified and no arrest had been announced. The investigation remains open.

If anyone has information about Pacheco’s movements that afternoon or about people he might have encountered at the farm, please come forward.