Clash erupts after Laie woman sentenced for beating adopted daughter to death
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A Laie woman was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday for beating to death her 11-year-old adopted daughter.
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Before hearing her sentence in Honolulu Circuit Court, Sina Pili broke down in tears and apologized to her community, her family, and to her 11-year-old victim, Azaeliyah Pili-Ah You.
“Azaeliyah, I’m sorry baby for everything. Please forgive me for what I’ve done,” Pili pleaded.
The 11-year-old was found unconscious and injured from head to toe at the family’s Laie home in 2023.
Authorities say Pili, who adopted five children total and taught college classes on social work, forced Azaeliyah to run outside knowing she was sick with COVID, the flu and pneumonia.
Pili then beat Azaeliyah for about 30 minutes, authorities added.
A sobbing Pili mentioned in court, “I love Azaeliyah and I love my children. They are the best children.”
Deputy prosecutor Tiffany Kaeo said, “In this case, a community grieves, a family grieves, and there will never be any winners in this situation.
Hoping to bring closure to the Azaeliyah’s surviving siblings, who were taken by the state after her death, the prosecution made a plea deal with her adoptive mother.
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Circuit Court Judge Rowena Somerville ultimately decided on 10 years in prison, with credit for time served, instead of probation for Pili.
“I’ve never had to sentence a mother who caused serious bodily injury to her child,” Somerville said.
The sentence angered loved ones, leading to an altercation outside of the courtroom between Azaeliyah’s biological and adoptive family.
Both families also leveled insults at each other.
“That whole commotion, they’re the ones that actually left her behind,” Pili’s cousin, Mounia Tachibana, said. “It’s a sticky situation where you have a family who kind of just drops off a child with people who don’t even know anything about her and then dug out.”
Neither side was satisfied with the sentence.
Pili’s relatives feel 10 years is too long, and Azaeliyah’s birth family argues the term is too lenient.
“It’s bullsh*t, It’s bullsh*t. Everybody knows it. I see the news posting articles and even the comment section on social media, and everybody knows it. This is like telling people you can beat your sick child until they die,” Azaeliyah’s blood relative, Carol Jean Acevedo, said.
When asked for his reaction to the sentencing, Pili’s attorney Myles Breiner said, “The court should have sentenced her to probation. It was deserved and warranted under the circumstances.”
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Breiner said he plans to appeal the sentence.
Pili must also pay more than $1,000 in restitution.
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