Hawaii Island police have charged a Puna man for allegedly shooting a woman and two children to death early Friday morning in Leilani Estates subdivision.
At 8:30 p.m. Saturday, 49-year-old John Ali Hoffman of Leilani Estates was charged with first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder, illegally carrying a firearm and use of a firearm in the commission of a separate felony.
Hoffman’s bail was set at $2.75 million, and he remains in custody at the Hilo police cellblock pending his initial court appearance Monday.
The first-degree murder charge is because there are multiple counts of murder. A conviction on that charge carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole, while second-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life with the possibility of parole upon conviction.
An autopsy determined that the woman, a boy and a girl all died of gunshot wounds.
The woman has been identified but her identity is being withheld pending notification of her family. The children have yet to be positively identified. They are believed to be Hoffman’s wife and two children.
Officers responded to a disturbance call in Leilani Estates subdivision in the rural Puna district around 1:30 a.m. Friday and spotted a man driving away in a car with its headlights off.
The car, with Hoffman behind the wheel, was pulled over. Officers spotted a handgun in the seat next to Hoffman. The woman’s body was found in the trunk.
Hoffman’s sister-in-law, Marie Hoffman, was shocked to hear the allegations.
“That don’t sound right,” she said several times in a phone interview with the Associated Press from Minneapolis.
She said she did not know much about John Hoffman’s wife but that he is originally from St. Louis and moved to Hawaii about 20 years ago.
Marie Hoffman, who is married to his brother, described John Hoffman as the kind of man who takes care of people, especially children.
“He’s stern, but he’s cool,” she said.
Hoffman recently posted rants on Facebook under the name “Snofru Ali.” In a video posted Monday, he referred to property ownership.
Court records indicate he was sued four years ago over a property he bought in Fern Acres and stopped making payments on. A judge recently ruled no more motions or documents could be filed in the case, a victory for plaintiffs Saron Magan and Bhupen Magan Ttee.
Court records indicate Hoffman resisted being evicted from the property and was arrested there in February 2015 on suspicion of trespassing.
Hoffman also used the social media site to accuse three Big Island judges of conspiring to have him murdered.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
