Authorities in Hawaii arrested and charged the soldier boyfriend of a female Natoinal Guard soldier discovered dead inside a burning vehicle outside a high school.
Samuel Jones, 25, was arrested on March 15, according to court records and charged with the death of his girlfriend, Laau Jordan Laulusa, 21, whose body was discovered in a burning car on Monday, March 13.
Jones was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson.
At around 6:45 a.m. on Monday, police responded to 911 calls reporting a car on fire in a school parking lot. Officers responding to the call discovered the burning car parked outside Mililani High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, with the young woman’s burned-to-death body inside.
Witnesses told police that they saw a man open and close the vehicle’s doors just before it caught fire. The man allegedly fled on foot, and they pursued him and kept him in sight until police arrived. Witnesses reported seeing him holding what appeared to be a blade or knife.
According to the victim’s family, an autopsy on Laulusa revealed that the 21-year-old died from a stab wound to the neck. According to other documents, she had multiple wounds in her armpits as well as visible cuts on her neck.
Laulusa’s family said they didn’t know if she and Jones were having problems and that she was a very private person.
On Wednesday, the Hawaii Army National Guard confirmed Laulusa’s death. Laulusa had joined the National Guard in 2019.
According to the US Army, the murder suspect, Jones, was also a soldier who worked as a specialist in the US Army Reserve. His bail was set at one million dollars.
