A manhunt continues for 36-year-old Jacob Daniel Baker of Pahoa, who is a suspect in three homicides that occurred over the course of two days in Kapoho and Kalapana earlier this week.

Read more UPDATE: Police release details on third homicide, Jacob Baker still sought for questioning

Baker is considered armed and extremely dangerous, and has been described by the Hawaii Police Department as Asian, 5 feet 9 inches tall, 190 pounds with short black hair and a fresh tattoo under his left eye. The public is asked not to approach Baker and to call 911 immediately if he is seen.

He is suspected of killing two elderly men in the Papaya Farms Road area, and a third elderly male at a residence along Kalapana-Kapoho Road near the Kalapana Transfer Station.

HPD said it is not aware of a motive at this time.

According to HPD, the first victim was discovered at approximately 8:47 p.m. on Monday when Puna patrol officers responded to a residence located along Railroad Avenue following initial reports of an unresponsive male. Due to what police have described as “unexplained circumstances at the scene,” homicide and criminal investigators were immediately called in to take over the case.

Less than 24 hours later at 12:39 p.m. on Tuesday, patrol officers were dispatched to a separate property located approximately 400 to 500 feet away from where the first victim was found. This was in the 14-300 block of Papaya Farms Road, where responding officers found a second elderly dead man inside the residence and explicitly noted that this victim exhibited “clear, suspicious injuries” from “blunt force trauma.”

That evening, patrol officers responded to a residence in the 12-7800 block of Kalapana-Kapoho Road in Kalapana at 9:58 p.m. near the juncture of Highways 130 and 137. Officers located an elderly dead man on the property, again under “suspicious circumstances.” This suspected killing occurred roughly 19 miles away from the first two, according to HPD.

Autopsies on the first two victims were performed on Wednesday to determine exact causes of death.

The Tribune-Herald has learned the names of the first two victims but has opted not to publish them until they are officially released by police.

The killings have shaken the rural coastal community of Koae, which includes Papaya Farms Road, Puua Road and parts of Railroad Avenue. Several long-time community members agreed to speak with the Tribune-Herald on the condition of anonymity, especially considering that Baker is still at-large.

A 49-year-old Papaya Farms Road resident who said they were friends and neighbors of the first two alleged victims shared a story about how these events unfolded.

The resident said that Baker had recently been evicted from his housing at Josanna’s Organic Garden, located at 14-252 Papaya Farms Road, after living there for roughly a year. He then showed up at several properties owned by acquaintances he had made in the neighborhood asking if he could “crash” with them for a few days.

Baker reportedly was taken in by the second victim several days before he was killed. The suspect stayed there for a few days before again being kicked out, opting to move farther down Papaya Farms Road and approach another elderly longtime resident who stays in a communal living situation about short-term lodging.

Members of that community, according to the 49-year-old neighbor interviewed, noticed that Baker — whom they referred to as “Jake” — was acting “erratic, manic and paranoid,” claiming that he was “fleeing police.”

It’s unclear how many days Baker stayed at this second residence. But in the late-afternoon on Monday, a scuffle reportedly broke out between Baker and residents on the property, where the interviewee claimed the suspect “jumped” one man, and then proceeded to attack multiple people and kick a dog “in the head very hard.”

Baker allegedly tried to attack a female resident on the property, who fought back by squirting pepper spray into his eyes.

During the fight, those who Baker allegedly attacked claimed he yelled out the first name of a 69-year-old male neighbor, shouting that he “is dead” multiple times. Afterwards, Baker allegedly took off on foot and left his belongings.

Victims of the attack went through the suspect’s possessions and claimed to have found a notebook full of “sick, violent, paranoid stories,” including threats of rape and physical violence, which they brought to police the next day.

This prompted the victims of the attack to go next door and check on their neighbor whose name is the same as what Baker was allegedly shouting.

At the adjacent property, victims of the attack claimed to have found the elderly male neighbor’s journal and cellphone lying next to a chair, but couldn’t locate the kupuna in the dark even after frantically searching and calling out his name. Due to these suspicious circumstances, victims of the attack next door called the police.

The attack victims went to check on another elderly female resident up the road knowing Baker had stayed with her in the past. After confirming she was okay, the victims returned to the missing elderly male’s residence along Railroad Avenue just as police were arriving to the property.

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Together, they claim to have found the body of the missing elderly man floating in the rain catchment tank in the front yard.

Less than a day later on Tuesday morning, an employee of the first elderly man that Baker had stayed with after he was evicted — which interviewed residents described as a 79-year-old organic fruit farmer — went to the kupuna’s house to tell him about the first killing.

The employee searched while calling out the elderly man’s name, eventually coming upon the residence’s bedroom. There the employee reportedly discovered the body of the second victim. Police were called again, arriving a little after noon.

According to interviewed residents, the employee found his employer’s disfigured body lying on a bed surrounded by plastic 55-gallon barrels, with a face mutilated beyond recognition and several missing fingers. The employee said he initially thought he had discovered a “butchered animal.”

One resident who witnessed the scene and spoke with the Tribune-Herald said a responding police officer suggested that the victim had been “bludgeoned to death with a rock or a 10-pound weight” and hacked with a machete.

Baker than allegedly stole a pickup truck from another Papaya Farms Road residence and fled to Kalapana, where he allegedly killed his third victim — a 69-year-old man — that evening.

The 49-year-old interviewee recalled fond memories of working on community organizing projects with both Koae victims, the second of whom had lived in the neighborhood for more than three decades.

“They joined forces. They were always involved, wanting to be involved in community efforts and any kind of social community events that were going on,” the resident said. “They were always wanting to be there, involved. They were at all kinds of things. They were always people who attended meetings, and you know, they were always showing up. They were just very present. They were my friends early on, and they were friends of friends who have been here for 30-plus years.”

“… I feel like we haven’t really even mourned. It’s so shocking,” the resident added.

HPD held a press conference Wednesday afternoon about the killings, where Police Chief Reed Mahuna was asked by reporters if he had a “message” for the suspect.

“If the suspect is watching this, we would like him to contact the police, turn himself in, and don’t risk any further harm to anyone else or himself,” Mahuna said.

Baker has been in trouble with the law before. According to the state Judiciary website, his record includes traffic violations as well as DUI and open container charges, but no prior violent criminal offenses.

He’s also the target of orders of protection sought by two women who petitioned Hilo District Court on Friday. One was the owner of the farm where he was staying before getting evicted, and the second was a friend of the owner who arrived at the farm “only to realize that all the women left because this man was threatening to kill them.”

“Jacob Baker has threatened my life, the life of a disabled man (and) three people currently living on the farm,” the land owner wrote.

The petition stated that Baker issued “multiple threats in the past” and had returned the previous day and “threatened us.” Judge Kanani Laubach denied both petitions on Tuesday.

A triple homicide is a rare occurrence on the Big Island, with the last occurring a decade ago on May 6, 2016. In that case, John Ali Hoffman allegedly fatally shot his 40-year-old wife, Aracely, and his children, Clara, 7, and John Jr., 5, in Leilani Estates. Numerous rounds of fitness examinations later, Hoffman’s case remains active in Hilo Circuit Court.

Police have asked anyone with information regarding this investigation or Baker’s whereabouts to contact Detective Duane Rapoza at (808) 961-2383 or via email at [email protected], or Detective Sy Keltner at (808) 961-2384 or via email at [email protected].

Members of the public may also call the police department’s nonemergency number at (808) 935-3311.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000. All Crime Stoppers information is confidential.

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Email Stefan Verbano at [email protected].