Shirlene Wakisaka Wiki, Biography
In the afternoon hours of April 5, 2000, lifeguards arrived at the residence of Kenneth and Shirlene Wakisaka for the second time after the latter reportedly drowned and collapsed.
That same morning, Shirlene, mother of two beloved daughters, had allegedly consumed a lethal dose of sleeping pills with beer. She then was rushed to the hospital where she died five days later.
The incident was initially ruled a suicide attempt until an autopsy conducted two years later, against the wishes of her husband Kenneth, revealed that Shirlene had been strangled. Subsequently, Kenneth Wakisaka was convicted and sent to prison, but his conviction was overturned shortly thereafter.
An upcoming episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered, titled The Vow, will reexamine the death of Shirlene Wakisaka this Wednesday, February 1 on Oxygen at 8:00 p.m. m. ET. The synopsis goes like this:
“Two tenacious sisters are determined to make good on a promise to investigate the mystery surrounding the death of her mother.”
Shirlene Wakisaka’s husband flew into a rage and began asking strange questions at the mention of a possible autopsy.
On the afternoon of April 5, 2000, when first responders arrived at the Wakisaka residence, Shirlene Wakisaka reportedly appeared to be drowning and collapsed. They also noted “some redness around the neck area” on both sides of her and that her neck was “reddish in color and mottled.” Also, the color of her body was blue around her lips, which was due to lack of oxygen or a heart attack.
Shirlene, 52, was examined at her residence and was immediately rushed to St. Francis Medical Center West, where she died on April 10 after being removed from life support. Authorities initially suspected that she died of a possible drug overdose, given her husband Kenneth’s claims earlier that day that she had consumed a lethal amount of sleeping pills with beer that morning.
However, Tiffany and Tammy, Shirlene’s daughters from a previous marriage who had been skeptical from the start, claimed to have discovered two bottles of pills in the Wakisakas’ backyard, something investigators who had already conducted an extensive search had found. they claimed that he was not present in the backyard during the investigation.
On the day of Shirlene Wakisaka’s death, when her husband Kenneth was informed of a possible autopsy, he became enraged and insisted that her deceased died a natural death. He also began asking strange questions about whether an autopsy would indicate that Shirlene had been strangled.
An autopsy finally confirmed that Shirlene Wakisaka died as a result of strangulation.
A delayed autopsy was performed on April 11, 2002, which showed that Shirlene Wakisaka had been strangled. A doctor later confirmed that she died as a result of “ligature strangulation”, after finding a diagonal bruise on the right side of Shirlene’s neck, just below the jaw line, classifying the bruise as a ligature mark.
Reports indicated that the tissue in the victim’s neck was bruised and that hemorrhage was found in the victim’s right eye, suggesting that there was pressure on the blood vessels in Shirlene’s head and neck. In conclusion, the results proved that she did not die of a heart attack and that the number of drugs in her system was not lethal.
Also, one year after Shirlene Wakisaka’s death, her daughters discovered that her stepfather had abused her mother. Tammy reportedly stated that “[Shirlene] let us know that she feared for her life and if anything happened to her, she would investigate.”
All the evidence combined when presented in front of a grand jury, Kenneth Wakisaka was found guilty of second-degree murder during a 2002 trial and received a life sentence with probation. His conviction, however, was overturned shortly thereafter.
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