On January 31st, 2001, in the rural Pepe’ekeo area of Hawaii Island’s South Hilo district, nineteen-year-old Kallen James Agliam was shot to death in what remains an unsolved homicide.
A passerby discovered his body at approximately five seventeen p.m. lying on the shoulder of the old Hilo Coast Processing Plant Road (sometimes referred to in reports as near Overpass Road), an isolated stretch of roadway near the former sugar processing site. Kallen, a resident of Pepe’ekeo and a clerk at the Suisan warehouse, had been driving his Jeep Cherokee that afternoon. His vehicle was found nearby at the scene.
Kallen had last been seen around four thirty p.m. driving his gold SUV in the Pepe’ekeo area, heading in the direction where his body was later discovered. Witnesses reported that his vehicle was being followed by one or possibly two males in a newer model gray Toyota pickup truck. Detectives learned that Kallen had plans to meet two individuals that afternoon—one in Pepe’ekeo and another in nearby Hakalau—between four and five p.m.
The Hawaii County Police Department’s Hilo Criminal Investigation Section responded immediately. The remote, sparsely populated location with older, less-traveled roads limited potential witnesses and physical evidence. Over the years, some witnesses relocated or passed away, causing leads to fade.
Detectives developed a theory that Kallen may have been involved in narcotics trafficking, which could have provided a possible motive, though no charges have ever been filed and the theory remains speculative. In early 2001, police renewed appeals for information, established a tip hotline, and noted that Kallen was reportedly en route to those planned meetings when he was killed.
More than twenty-five years later, the murder of Kallen Agliam is still unresolved.
Crime Immemorial 