Parents arrested for allegedly killing their 6-year-old adopted daughter in Hawaii

Police arrested the adopted parents of a 6-year-old girl and accused them of murder after the child was reported missing in mid-September.

Honolulu police say the adopted parents of Isabella Kalua, also known as Ariel Sellers, killed her sometime around mid-August and reported her missing a month later, The Star Advertiser reported.

Lehua Kalua, 43, and Isaac K. Kalua III, 52, were arrested for suspicion of second-degree murder on Nov. 10 and both are being held without bail, according to The Star Advertiser.

Cops have not yet recovered the child's body, but continue to search the Kaluas’ Waimanalo, Hawaii property, The Star Advertiser reported.

Isabella was reported missing from her Waimanalo home on Sept. 13 by her adoptive parents, according to The Star Advertiser.

They said they last saw her at 9 p.m. on Sept. 12 in her bedroom, and reported her disappearance by calling 911 at 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 13, The Star Advertiser reported.

Homicide Lt. Deena Thoemmes said the statement they made to police was false, according to The Star Advertiser.

The couple told police on Sept. 13 that she left the house in the middle of the night, and that was false from a review of multiple surveillance videos in the area, The Star Advertiser reported.

Although police had their suspicions that it was a murder, the case was technically only reclassified late last week, Lt. Thommes told The Star Advertiser.

“Unfortunately, what began as a search for a missing girl turned into a murder investigation focused on the Kaluas,” Honolulu interim police chief Rade Vanic told The Star Advertiser. “We believe that the evidence leads to the Kaluas and no one else.”

Anyone who may have seen Isabella or had interactions with her or her sisters from 2019 to August 2021 are asked to call CrimeStoppers at (808) 955-8300. Anyone who may have seen Lehua or Isaac “Sonny” Kalua from August to September are also asked to call CrimeStoppers.