3 Men Involved In Deadly Hawaii Vacation Rental Fight Were CMU Grads
HONOLULU (AP/KDKA) — A tourist from Pittsburgh has been charged with manslaughter after a deadly fight in a Hawaii vacation rental, police said.
A second tourist from Boston who had been arrested was released with no charges filed, police on the Big Island said Wednesday.
Police were called to a Kailua-Kona vacation rental early Monday where a 30-year-old man wasn't breathing. An autopsy showed that Abhishek Gupta of Pittsburgh was strangled, police said.
Benjamin Fleming, 37, of Pittsburgh and Alexander Germany-Wald, 31, of Boston were arrested. Fleming was later charged while Germany-Wald was released after police conferred with prosecutors.
Carnegie Mellon University confirmed all three men were 2020 MBA grads.
Police said the men were roommates at a Kona vacation rental. Prosecutors believe Fleming got into a fight with Gupta early Monday morning. Court documents said Fleming gave conflicting statements about what led up to Gupta's death.
Fleming appeared in court Wednesday. During his hearing, Fleming's attorney asked the judge to reduce his bail, but the prosecution told the judge why that shouldn't happen.
"Your honor, this is a Class A felony. The defendant already has a plane ticket to leave the island, scheduled on April 4, 2021. He's not from here and we do believe he is a flight risk given the nature of the charges," said Deputy Prosecutor Charles Murray.
Fleming's attorney Christopher Eggert said, "I would request that the court provide supervised release or substantially reduce the bail requirement."
A judge denied the defense's request.
Fleming is being held on $250,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 7.
A man who answered at a phone number for Germany-Wald declined to comment.
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