Court documents filed by police contain three different accounts as to what led up to a fire that destroyed a home in the Wainaku neighborhood of Hilo on Saturday afternoon.
Ashley Nicole Turner, 37, of Hilo is charged with first-degree arson — a Class A felony punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment upon conviction — in connection with the fire.
Documents state Turner, who police say in a written statement “had previously resided at the residence” at 5 Ohana Place, told officers she got into a verbal argument with John Griskonis, a 50-year-old resident of the home Turner said was lying in her bed.
Turner claimed that after the argument, she grabbed her belongings and left the house, according to documents. Documents state Turner told police the fire could have been started by Griskonis’ ashtray, or because she threw her cigar out the window and there was rubbish everywhere.
Turner allegedly told police there was a gasoline can beneath and old dresser in a back outside room, but didn’t know if there was anything in the can.
According to documents, Griskonis told officers he was in the home’s living room at about 1:40 p.m. when Turner came into the house and went to a rear room where she had been staying.
Griskonis told police Turner came out of the room carrying some bags, entered the front room of the home and a closet area of the room, documents state.
Griskonis, according to documents, told police he heard what sounded like liquid being poured where Turner was standing, then Turner grabbed her bags and left the house quickly.
Documents state Griskonis told police he then left the house, suspecting nothing, but then heard a loud, rushing noise like fire. He also told police Turner previously had threatened to torch the house on several occasions, and said the previous week she was “gonna burn this motherf—-r down,” documents state.
Griskonis reportedly told police he and Turner were the only ones in the home. Documents don’t relate Griskonis mentioning an argument to police.
A witness, identified in documents as 57-year-old John D’Amore, told police he was working on an adjacent property when he overheard a man and a woman arguing. According to documents, D’Amore saw a blonde woman later leave with a backpack and two duffel bags. He also saw Griskonis enter the house and emerge almost immediately, yelling that the house was on fire, documents state.
D’Amore reportedly told police he went into the house and saw a closet full of clothes fully engulfed in flames, and that he tried, unsuccessfully, to extinguish the fire with water.
According to the Fire Department, the home was destroyed,and damages were estimated at about $80,000. Court documents identify the home’s owner as 88-year-old Adele Bagay.
Turner was arrested a short time later at the entrance to Wainaku Executive Center.
At Turner’s initial court appearance on Monday, Hilo District Judge Jeffrey Hawk denied a defense request to free her on court-supervised release without monetary bail. Hawk maintained Turner’s bail at $50,000 and ordered her to return Wednesday for a preliminary hearing.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
