More than a year after the death of her adoptive daughter, police arrested 39-year-old Sina Pili for manslaughter on Friday.

Eleven-year-old Azaeliyah Pili-Ah You died on Dec. 22, 2023 after emergency services found the unresponsive child with bruises on her body and face at Pili’s home in Lāʻie, according to Honolulu Police Department Lt. Dee Thoemmes. 

Initially, the girl’s adoptive father told officials the child had fallen in the shower. Pili told officers that Azaeliyah had been sick for a few days and had stayed home from school earlier that week with a fever. 

Azaeliyah was pronounced dead at the hospital. Authorities determined the cause of death to be multiple injuries due to child abuse.

The police investigation revealed Pili had slapped and punched the girl on the day of her death. An autopsy showed the girl had bruising so deep it reached her diaphragm, injuries on her neck indicative of strangulation and wounds on her nose consistent with being bitten. She also had two rib fractures and a hemorrhage on the top of her head, among other injuries, according to police. 

The forensic pathologist determined the injuries stemmed from child abuse and ruled the death to be a homicide, Thoemmes said. 

The autopsy also revealed Azaeliyah tested positive for Covid-19, influenza and pneumonia. The law enforcement investigation found that, on the day the girl died, Pili made the sick child run to and from a chapel across the street.

“During these investigations, it is long. All of our child deaths or murders, it takes a while. We have to look at everything,” said Lt. Thoemmes. “It’s a lot of investigation, so it takes a little bit longer than a normal murder investigation.” 

Pili was also indicted for endangering the welfare of a minor and persistent non-support. She is being held in HPD custody without bail pending her arraignment next week, according to the Honolulu prosecutor’s office. The girl’s adoptive father is still under investigation, according to HPD. 

A state report released on Friday detailing child fatalities as a result of abuse lists one unnamed 11-year-old girl with circumstances matching this case. According to the report, there had been no prior to reports to Child Welfare Services regarding those caretakers. However, CWS knew about the girl while she was in the care of another family.

Pili had adopted Azaeliyah two months prior to her death, according to HPD.

There were four other adopted children in Pili’s home, ages 12, 9, 8 and 7. All of the children are now in the custody of CWS, and officials are investigating whether there was abuse or neglect of the other children in Pili’s care. 

This is the second indictment in a child abuse case this week. On Tuesday, a mother and her partner were indicted on second degree murder and other felony charges related to the death of 3-year-old Sarai Perez-Rivera.