Hawaii detectives arrest Shiloh man in connection with big island murder

Detectives investigating the death of a homeless woman in downtown Hilo, Hawaii that occurred early Friday morning announced they have arrested a Shiloh man on suspicion of second-degree murder in the case.

UPDATE: Shiloh man charged in connection with Hawaii murder

According to a press release from the Hawaii County Police Department, Curtis Hodges, 35, was arrested at a hostel around 11 a.m. Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time, or around 4 p.m. Central Standard Time.

According to the release, patrol officers responded to a report of an unresponsive woman with injuries near a business on Kamehameha Avenue in downtown Hilo shortly before 1 a.m. local time and arrived to find the woman deceased “with obvious signs of foul play.” The statement did not describe the extent of the woman’s injuries.

After examining footage from nearby businesses’ security cameras, police developed Hodges as a suspect and arrested him at the hostel on Waianuenue Avenue.

The identity of the victim is pending a fingerprint examination.

Neither a spokeswoman with the Hawaii County Police Department nor a detective working the case would release additional information about the case Friday evening. The investigation remains ongoing.

There are two hostels on Waianuenue Avenue in downtown Hilo. A man who answered the phone at the Hilo Bay Hostel declined to comment on whether Hodges was a guest there because he was not allowed to give out guest information. An employee at the Hilo Backpacker’s Hostel said there was no one registered there under Hodges’ name.

Hodges’ criminal record in St. Clair County includes numerous battery charges. In addition to a battery case stemming from an incident in April that’s still pending, he was convicted on battery charges in June 2014 stemming from another incident in Shiloh and twice in November 2007 for incidents investigated by Belleville police and St. Clair County deputies.

Shiloh Police Chief Jim Stover said Friday evening that Hawaii police had not yet reached out to his deparment.

Return to BND.com for more on this developing story.

This story was originally published August 14, 2015 at 8:00 PM with the headline "Hawaii detectives arrest Shiloh man in connection with big island murder."