James Paul Phelps was a 47-year-old Black man from Mountain View, Hawaiʻi whose absence prompted concern in October 2022. On the afternoon of October 11, shortly after 1:30 p.m., a worried acquaintance went to the Lehua Street property, noticed a foul odor coming from the off-grid residence, and called police. Responding officers entered and found Phelps’ badly decomposed body on the floor.

An autopsy on October 14, 2022 determined he died from a single gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death was ruled a homicide. Detectives classified the case as second-degree murder. Initial public updates said no suspect had been identified and motive remained under investigation. Subsequent appeals for community help were renewed in December 2023 and again on June 7, 2024; those updates described the investigation as active and made public requests for information. No arrests or suspects had been publicly named.

If anyone knew James, his routines, or saw anything unusual near the Lehua Street property in October 2022, can you share information with investigators?