Doneshia RoxAnne Kastner was 41 when she was shot and killed inside her Kinau Street apartment in Honolulu on August 11, 1995. Her 7-year-old son was outside nearby and witnessed events that afternoon; he later testified at trial and placed a neighbor, Gene, leaving the scene after shots were fired. Kastner was taken to The Queen’s Medical Center and died later that day.

Police focused on a neighbor across the street, Eugene Walter Barrett, who had a long history of violence against women and reportedly had become fixated on Kastner. Investigators recovered a .25 semiautomatic pistol near the apartment complex, and Barrett surrendered to police the next day. He was charged with murder, theft, and unlawful possession of a firearm and initially pleaded not guilty.

At trial Barrett said he wanted to kill Kastner because she chose other men over him; the jury convicted him on all counts. He was given an automatic life sentence with at least 40 years before parole eligibility. The case is remembered as the murder of a Honolulu mother and the final confirmed killing linked to a man described in reporting as Hawaii’s first known serial killer.

If anyone knew Doneshia Kastner, where she lived, or saw anything on Kinau Street that afternoon, please share what you can.