{"id":2436,"date":"2026-07-10T04:36:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T04:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2436"},"modified":"2026-07-10T04:36:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T04:36:12","slug":"hanalei-restaurant-owner-reveals-new-details-honoring-murder-victims-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2436","title":{"rendered":"Hanalei restaurant owner reveals new details honoring murder victim\u2019s life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HANALEI (HawaiiNewsNow) – Just over a month has passed since the death of Sergio Reyes Hernandez, known as \u201cTito Reyes.\u201d The 37-year-old was found dead inside Federico\u2019s Hanalei.<\/p>\n

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For the first time since the tragedy, the restaurant owner opened up about Reyes and his life, sharing he was like family to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where he was found, right here in our bathroom,\u201d owner Maria Hernandez said, pointing out the scene of the gruesome discovery. \u201cWe feel his spirit here with us, like he\u2019s never left.\u201d <\/p>\n

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The early morning hours of June 6 is when Reyes\u2019 girlfriend found his body. She went looking for him after he didn\u2019t come home from work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lights were off, didn\u2019t see anything. And so she came back in, saw some blood on the floor going into the bathroom. She pushed the door open and that\u2019s when she found him on the ground,\u201d Maria Hernandez said.<\/p>\n

One mark remains from that horrendous night.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know how it played out, but there is a bullet hole in the door \u2014 and that\u2019s the bullet they found behind the toilet,\u201d Hernandez added.<\/p>\n

Tito Reyes worked at Federico\u2019s ever since he moved to Kaua\u2019i 15 years ago.<\/p>\n

Hernandez opened up about his life at a community meeting in Kilauea Tuesday night, sharing he was not only their chef, but was also a kind man and a caring member of their \u2018ohana.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was part of our family. He was like another son to us,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cA son to my husband, a brother to my son, brother to my daughters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daughter Kaylee Hernandez said through tears, \u201cThere\u2019s just plenty of memories of him, you know, picking me up from school when I was younger, giving me rides home from work. Just being always being there, being very helpful. Someone you could always talk to.\u201d<\/p>\n

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With most of his relatives still in Guatemala, Reyes cared for his friends as his own family, jumping in to help whenever it was needed.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe girls needed to have a centipede killed one day. He was working at the Princeville location and they go, \u2018Mom, there\u2019s a centipede!\u2019 And Tito says, \u2018I\u2019m going, I\u2019m gonna go kill it,\u2019\u201d Maria Hernandez recalled.<\/p>\n

Reyes\u2019 alleged killer, William \u201cBilly\u201d Sinclair, remains in police custody, indicted on 28 counts, including second-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty in court last month.<\/p>\n

The week before he died, Hernandez said Reyes\u2019 tires were slashed, but they didn\u2019t think much of it.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

She was also made aware of a financial dispute between Reyes and Sinclair, who were roommates, and it reportedly stemmed over matters with the house.<\/p>\n

When asked what she wanted to see happen in order to feel like justice is served, Hernandez said Sinclair deserves life in prison.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe needs to be found guilty of this crime because he knows what he did. He had it planned. That\u2019s what I feel. He had it planned,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The eatery has been blessed, and a memorial at the restaurant now serves as a place for friends to share in his memory. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Handwritten notes will be placed in his casket when his body is sent home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just hope that he\u2019s remembered for how great his smile was. How he was always so happy. Like my mom said, he did a lot for everyone around him. It\u2019ll never be forgotten,\u201d Kaylee said.<\/p>\n

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A GoFundMe is collecting donations to send his remains home to Guatemala.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just over a month after Federico\u2019s Hanalei chef Sergio \u201cTito\u201d Reyes Hernandez was found shot to death, the owner shared memories and pointed to the bullet hole that remains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nHanalei restaurant owner reveals new details honoring murder victim\u2019s life - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2436\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hanalei restaurant owner reveals new details honoring murder victim\u2019s life - 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