On the night of August 25, 1991, 58-year-old Santiago Domingo Dela Cruz was at his family’s home in Waipahu when an estranged son-in-law, Orlando Ganal Sr., entered and opened fire. Neighbors heard a loud noise around 11 p.m., then gunshots. Santiago came out of the bedroom and confronted the intruder and was shot almost immediately; the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court later recorded that he died from multiple internal injuries caused by three gunshot wounds.

His wife, Aradina Dela Cruz, was also killed; their daughter Mabel and son Orlando Jr. were wounded and survived to witness the attack. The assailant then drove to Kailua and carried out an arson attack that killed two small children and caused further deaths, turning the incident into a wider spree addressed in court. The state charged Orlando Ganal Sr. with first-degree murder and related offenses, and court rulings and reporting identify him as the convicted defendant in the case.

Does anyone have memories of the Waipahu neighborhood or the victims from that night that could shed more light on Santiago Dela Cruz and his family?