HONOLULU— The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) is providing an overview of the investigation into the murder of 55-year-old Jonnaven Monalim, whose body was located in Waipahu on Nov. 7, 2025. The investigation led to the arrest of 45-year-old Clarence Luke for Murder in the Second Degree and Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Separate Felony. 

On Nov. 6, 2025, District 3 patrol officers responded to a suspicious circumstance call on Waihona Street in Pearl City after a woman reported that her brother, Monalim, had not returned home. At the scene, officers recovered blood, Monalim’s hearing aids and both a spent and unspent 9mm cartridge. A missing person investigation was then initiated. 

Detectives identified Luke, a friend of Monalim, as a person of interest early in the case. Cellphone data later showed that both men were together on Waihona Street and traveling westbound on H-1 the night Monalim was last heard from. Surveillance footage also showed Luke disposing of clothing in a Waipahu dumpster the following morning. The clothing was recovered and later confirmed to contain DNA belonging to Monalim. 

On Nov. 7, District 3 Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) officers located a decomposing body near Waipio Point Access Road. The body was identified as Monalim through fingerprint comparison. The Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds. 

Detectives worked with the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney to obtain arrest warrants, and bail was set at $1,000,000. On Nov. 12, District 3 and District 8 CRU officers located Luke in Waipahu and arrested him without incident. 

HPD thanks the community members who provided surveillance footage and witness statements, as well as the numerous HPD units whose coordinated efforts helped bring this case to its current stage.