Victims in Kapolei murder-suicide identified; Police still has no lead on suspect's motive

By Staff Writer | Jan 11, 2016 10:49 AM EST

The identfication of the victims in the Kapolei murder-suicide have been revealed , but police investigation is still on going on the motive of the killer. Police say that current evidence indicate that the case does not have anything to do with domestic violence.

As reported by KHON2, the Honolulu Medical Examiner's office has released the names of the victims in the New Year's Day shooting in Kapolei. The victims were identified as Francisca Funtanilla, 56, and Rugel Queja, 32, from Waipahu.

According to another report from the new outlet, Funtanilla's family said that she had two female friends over during the New Year's Day party at her house, and Queja was the son of one of her guests. Funtanilla's family was at the house as well during the shooting.

According to the witnesses, Queja was talking to his mother, Funtanilla, and another guest before he excused himself from the group to go to the bathroom. Upon coming back to the living room, Queja aimed the gun at the back of Funtanilla's head and shot her before turning the gun around to shoot himself.

As reported by Hawaii News Now, Funtanilla was declared dead in the scene, although Queja was rushed to the hospital as he was still found breathing when first responders arrived. However, he was pronounced dead 90 minutes after the shooting.

"Right now this does not appear to be domestic violence-related and we're still trying to determine what led up to the confrontation", Lt. Phillip Lavarias of the Honolulu police said. Meanwhile, Funtanilla's family described her as "a wonderful loving wife, mother, grandmother, friend and spiritual healer. She was pure, full of life, humble, appreciative, and very selfless. ... She came from the Philippines to give her four girls a better life."

The incident came as a shock to the quiet neighborhood and was a fairly incident in the place. Queja also did not have prior police record, was quiet, and was rarely seen by his neighbors. The motive for the shooting is still unclear as of yet. 

More Sections