Acme John was 43 and living on Kahai Street in Honolulu when he was found fatally stabbed in the roadway just west of Kalihi Street in the early hours of December 28, 2011. Detectives determined he died at the scene from multiple stab wounds; no medical intervention was possible.

Those reconstructing the attack noted that John routinely used a laptop outside his residence, but the computer was not found near his body. Investigators recovered only a damaged USB adapter at the scene. Whether the assault began as a robbery, a targeted attack, or an escalated encounter has not been publicly clarified. The Honolulu Police Criminal Investigation Division handled the case and it remains listed as an unsolved homicide.

There have been public appeals for anyone who saw John that night or noticed suspicious activity on that stretch of Kahai Street to come forward.