The 43-year-old Washington man arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the Tuesday night death of his wife at Anaehoomalu Bay has been released from police custody.
Sonam Saxena, a Bellevue, Washington, resident and product manager for Google Cloud, was released without charges pending further investigation at 1:20 p.m. Friday after Hawaii Police Department detectives conferred with prosecutors. The release came just 10 minutes before the 48-hour limit to file charges ran up.
Sonam Saxena had been in police custody since 1:30 p.m. Wednesday facing a second-degree murder charge stemming from the death of his wife, Smriti Saxena, 41, whose body was found Wednesday morning, hours after Saxena reported her as missing.
An autopsy was conducted, however, further testing is needed to determine the exact cause of death, police said. Friday was also the first time the department confirmed the remains belonged to Smriti Saxena, 41, of Bellevue, Washington.
Attempts to reach Sonam Saxena after his release Friday were unsuccessful, though the product manager for Google Cloud spoke and texted with West Hawaii Today on Wednesday morning. His social media accounts were also silent post-release.
In that call, he professed his love for Smriti Saxena and pleading for the public’s help locating the mother of their two children, who have come to Hawaii for years to celebrate their eldest daughter’s birthday.
He also recounted the evening, stating his wife suffered an asthma attack after they took a 20-minute walk to a remote beach after libations at Lava Lava Beach Club. He left her there to fetch her inhaler, but when he returned, about 40 to 50 minutes later, he said, there was no sign of Smriti Saxena though her purse, phone, credit card and driver’s license were all there.
He said he returned to the hotel to see if his wife was there, and, after not finding there summoned help. Police said Friday they were called to the scene at approximately 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. Smriti Saxena’s body was located about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday along the Anaehoomalu Bay shoreline.
Google still had not responded for comment regarding Sonam Saxena as of press-time Friday.
Microsoft previously declined comment on Smriti Saxena, who was a business program manager for the company in Redmond, Washington.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Detective Keith Simeona at 326-4646, ext. 281, or via email to keith.simeona@hawaiicounty.gov. He can also be reached by calling the department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311.
Email Chelsea Jensen at cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com.
