Today we'll be covering the homicide of Shingo Honda, an artist, and former Zen Priest. This case is still active and ongoing. I’ll make sure to update you on the case as details emerge. Please remember that the suspect, in this case, is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. With that said, on to the case.
04-December-2019, Lynne Farr (Shingo’s Companion) went about making dinner and noticed that Shingo that was missing, that he hadn’t come in from spending the day outside. She raised the alarm and asked her neighbors to help her search the neighborhood. After searching, she finally called the police.
The night air was crisp and cool in Puna, Hawaii. When officers of the Hawaii Police Department arrived on scene responding to a report of a missing elderly male at 1918 hours, local. After some searching, they eventually found him several hundred yards from his residence on the shoulder of Unehe Road.
Two days later on 06-December-2019, Shingo’s identity was confirmed by fingerprints (I can only assume this was because of the COD), and his Cause of Death was blunt force trauma to his head and body, and his death has deemed a homicide.
During the investigation of the police, they learned that Shingo was trying to befriend a homeless man that had set up a camp near his home, Michael Cecil Lee. When the police questioned Lynne and those who searched for Shingo, they said that they had run into Michael, but he had denied that he had seen Shingo.
On 07-December-2019, Michael was apprehended for questioning when he shouted while he was being arrested, “Yeah, I’m wanted for murder. I killed the dude two days ago. And I left all the evidence for you guys.” Documents state. During questioning, Michael bragged about killing Shingo because he believed that Shingo was a war criminal, and that “God” killed Shingo and that he only laid him down.
To add to the persona of suspect Michael Cecil Lee, at his first court appearance, Deputy Prosecutor Herbert Mukai middle name while reading the charges on the court document. After Lee heard his middle name pronounced in the British fashion, with a short “e,” he shouted, “Cee-cil! Cee-cil!”
Shingo Honda was 75 years old, born in Niigata Japan, he was a Zen priest, an artist loved nature and all the transitional forms of it. His was a long and fruitful life that ended too soon… He touched many, I wish that I could’ve known him myself. I’ll read some quotes from a couple of the people that have known him in the past that have spoken to the media.
Big Island artist Patti Millington shared a photo of Shingo and his wife on social media and said, "His last act was an attempt to befriend a poor lost soul who had set up camp near their home". (hat tip: KITV)
"In the center of downtown L.A., where his studio was, it was a very crude, rough neighborhood back in the day. It was before the days of gentrification. I think that he brought this wonderful beauty to a desolate place. He was such a gentle soul and a kind, kind man," said Leonardo Ledesma, an L.A. art dealer, and friend of Honda. (hat tip: KITV)
That was a sad case. I think that they caught the right person. He was… Mentally disturbed to put it nicely. Be careful out there. Be aware of your surroundings, check six…and Trust your gut. If something tells you that something about that person isn’t right, your gut is probably right.
