Stephen Brown and his then-girlfriend, Hailey Dandurand, in 2017. They were both found guilty for the murder of Telma Boinville and both sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole on Wednesday. Photos: HPD//Star Advertiser
Stephen Brown and Hailey Dandurand were sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole on Wednesday for the 2017 murder of Telma Boinville. To be exact, Brown was also given another 20-year sentence for a kidnapping and burglary connected to the murder while Dandurand has actually been served two life sentences to be served consecutively as well as the 20-year term for kidnapping and burglary. In a state that has never allowed the death penalty — it was abolished in Hawaii in 1957, two years before becoming a state — the judge said it was necessary to deliver the maximum allowable penalty given the facts of a case that has spanned six years now since it upended the North Shore community.
The families of Brown and Dandurand asked the court to consider lighter sentences. In Brown’s case, his adoptive parents apparently offered context of him having a rough life while Brown’s defense tried to lay blame on Dandurand. Dandurand’s defense argued that Brown was the mastermind behind it all and Hailey said in her testimony she went along with Brown out of fear he’d hurt her next. The judge denied that claim and both defendants were delivered their sentences together in the same courtroom.
“They want to now ask for parole for a second chance at life. Is this a joke?” Kevin Emery, Boinville’s husband asked in a statement to the court this week. “I want to ask for a second chance to be a husband. Can I ask for a second chance for my wife to be a mother?”
“This is one of the most heinous cases to occur in Hawaii,” the judge told the pair of defendants. “Ms. Boinville was brutally killed when she happened upon the defendants at her place of work. The defendants could have left the premises, but instead chose to beat her with multiple objects — knives, a machete, and even a meat tenderizer.”
Still, the possibility of parole connected to all those sentences has some family and friends of Boinville saying justice still isn’t being served.
The North Shore murder was especially horrific. Boinville, a local teacher, was working a side job cleaning a Ke Iki beach vacation home on December 7, 2017 – a busy time as the Pipe Masters ended the WSL season – when Brown and Dandurand tied her up and beat her to death before escaping in a stolen truck. Renters arrived that afternoon to find Boinville’s body as well as her eight-year-old daughter tied up in a closet after witnessing the murder. The entire community shot into action immediately. Brian Emery, twin brother of Telma’s husband, Kevin, posted a video pleading desperately for locals to help find the murderers. He offered a $100,000 cash reward for information leading to the killers’ apprehension. Meanwhile, tips and leads flooded social media that day while both locals and police conducted searches within hours of the brutal murder.
Kelly Slater appealed on Instagram to anyone in the area for help. “The North Shore is a tight community. A murder is basically unheard of and everyone knows everyone,” he wrote. “No need for this person or persons to be on the run for more than a few more minutes. Please, let’s find em and not have everyone scared for a minute more. I don’t know the victim but she is a friend to many of my friends. This is just awful. Condolences to those affected and let’s band together to figure this out!”
Within hours, the truck Brown and Dandurand had taken was spotted at the Mililani Walmart and both were arrested by HPD.
