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| SCOTT GULLEDGE / Scroll |
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| The trailer where the bodies of Laura and Lorraine Kaneko were found has been removed from the property of Lorraine’s mother. |
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Madison County Courts found sufficient probable cause to charge Kenichi David Kaneko with five counts of felony in relation to the deaths of Kaneko’s wife and daughter on Monday, April 10.
Kaneko was charged April 11 by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of abandonment of vulnerable adult and one count of desertion and nonsupport of spouse.
Kaneko holds close to $500,000 in cash assets, which allowed him to post his own bail Tuesday, April 11, set at $75,000 by Judge Mark L. Rammell during the probable cause hearing.
If convicted of all five charges, Kaneko could face up to 44 years in prison.
The decayed bodies of Kaneko’s wife, Lorraine, 58, and daughter, Laura, 33, were found June 19, 2004, when a search warrant was executed to check on the physiological and psychological welfare of the women, said Capt. Travis M. Williams, in Idaho’s 7th District Court April 10.
Lorraine’s mother, who lived only 30 yards from the Kaneko’s double-wide trailer, had called the sheriff’s office asking them to do a welfare check on her daughter and granddaughter after not having seen them come out from the trailer in over a year.
Dr. Beaver, who examined Kaneko after his arrest, said Kaneko admitted that Laura had died sometime in May or June 2001, and Lorraine died Feb. 9, 2003.
According to Madison County court documents, Dr. Rodriguez, forensic anthropologist of the Department of Law Enforcement, said, “it is suggested that death possibly [resulted] from either illness or starvation or a combination of both.”
Both bodies had been lying next to each other from the times of death until authorities discovered them. Kaneko attempted to contain the smell by placing towels under the doors and against the doorjamb. Also, Kaneko bought air fresheners and purifiers, candles, Lysol and fans to mask the smell, Williams said.
Regarding Kaneko’s wife, Williams said, “there are indications of consistent and progressive signs of mental illness to include obsessive-compulsive behavior, paranoia, schizophrenia and possible eating disorders.”
The trailer “had boxes of items stacked from floor to ceiling so only small pathways were available to navigate through the house,” Williams said. “It appeared to investigators that they threw nothing away for several years, including spoiled food, canned food containers, feminine hygiene products and used toilet paper.”
“Most of the used food containers were labeled with the date they were consumed,” Williams said.
Kaneko had “sufficient ability to provide for his wife’s care, [but] refused to do that,” Williams said. His “failure to care for [his wife and daughter], provide them mental health help, medical help, proper food, proper housing … [resulted] in the cause of [their] death.”
Kaneko solicited the representation of defense attorney D. Fredrick Hoopes. “I represent him, what I learn about him is privileged,” Hoopes said.
