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Hawaiian Man Guilty Of Killing Teacher, Kidnapping Her Daughter In 2017
Teacher Telma Boinville, 51, was working as a cleaner to earn money on the side, when she was murdered by Stephen Brown and, allegedly, his girlfriend Hailey Dandurand in 2017.
A 28-year-old Hawaiian man was found guilty this week in the murder of a cleaner, whom he killed, allegedly alongside his girlfriend, more than half a decade ago during a botched robbery.
Stephen Brown was convicted on Friday by jury on charges of murder, two counts of kidnapping and burglary in connection with the 2017 murder of Telma Boinville and the abduction of her 8-year-old daughter, Hawaii News Now reported. The jury deliberated for roughly four hours before returning their verdict. Brown reportedly showed little emotion as the court’s decision was read.
According to prosecutors, Brown and his girlfriend at the time, Hailey Dandurand, were burglarizing a North Shore vacation home in 2017 when Boinville entered the home to clean it. She was later tortured and allegedly killed by Brown and Dandurand as her 8-year-old daughter sat in a vehicle outside the home. Prosecutors say the pair bound the girl, duct-taped her mouth and callously told the girl that her mother was dead.
Boinville, who had worked as a teacher, was cleaning vacation rentals at the time of her death as a second job to earn extra cash, officials said.
During his trial, Brown, who took the stand in his own defense, had attempted to pin the blame of Boinville’s murder on his girlfriend. His counsel, William Bagasol, claimed his client had only committed burglary and kidnapping, not murder.
“I am here to take accountability for what I did do,” Brown told jurors, per Hawaii News Now.
Brown told the court that he thought he and Dandurand had smoked marijuana prior to entering the vacation property through an open window on the day of Boinville's murder.
“I thought we were just going to hang out,” Brown said in court.
Shortly after entering the residence, Boinville walked in on the couple, Brown told jurors. He accused Dandurand, who was armed with a machete, of demanding Boinville lie down so the pair could restrain her by tying her up.
“We asked her to lay down,” Brown stated during his cross examination. “She was cooperative.”
Brown later claimed he went outside to secure the perimeter of the home but returned to find Boinville dead and his girlfriend covered in blood. He said Boinville was “unharmed” and “perfectly fine” when he momentarily left the property.
“There was blood on her, there was blood on Telma, there was blood on the ground,” he said.
He claimed he later got Boinville’s blood on himself after attempting to check the slain woman’s pulse. Brown insisted he didn’t “plan” to hurt Boinville on the night of the brutal killing.
“No, not at all. I wanted to run,” Brown said. “That was my first instinct when she came.”
He said he later retrieved Boinville's daughter from her vehicle outside the home. The pair later fled the scene in Boinville’s Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. Brown and Danduran were later arrested in a Walmart parking lot. Brown was the only witness for the defense.
Prosecutor Scott Bell, however, argued in closing arguments that medical evidence, including Boinville’s autopsy results, directly contradicted Brown’s own testimony, while pointing out that the Hawaiian man was the only defendant physically strong enough to subdue Boinville during the deadly encounter.
The case gained significant media attention after surfer Garret McNamara, who is purportedly related to Boinville’s daughter, posted an emotional Facebook video offering $100,000 for any information leading to the suspects' apprehension. The 35-second clip later went viral.
“I have $100,000 cash, right now, for anybody who can tell me who just tied up my niece and duct taped my niece and killed her mother at Ke Iki beach on the North Shore of Oahu," McNamara said. "$100,000 right now if you can tell me who just murdered my twin brother’s girl.”
Dandurand is now expected to stand trial in Boinville’s murder.
