Federal prosecutors disclosed earlier this month “that the criminal investigation into the murder of Johnathan Fraser is active and ongoing.”

The disclosure that the case is still being actively pursued before a federal grand jury came in responses to a lawsuit by the Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest, which is seeking disclosure of documents regarding the government’s search and seizure of a Boston Whaler belonging to Hawaii Partners, LLP, a company controlled by Honolulu businessman Mike Miske, which is alleged to have been used in Fraser’s murder.

The documents were part of a lawsuit brought by Hawaii Partners in an attempt to get the boat named “Painkiller” released, and to obtain government reimbursement for any damage done during the search, as well as for equipment seized and retained by the government. In the course of that lawsuit, virtually all of the documents were sealed and remain confidential, not subject to public inspection.

The government says that while Miske has been indicted, their murder investigation aimed at other co-conspirators involved in Fraser’s murder is still far from over.

While it is true that Defendant Michael J. Miske, Jr., already has been indicted, Miske was not the only person involved in the commission of those crimes. Indeed, the Superseding Indictment itself makes this clear: it charges Miske with, among other things, conspiring with others to commit the kidnapping and murder of Fraser. As suggested by the Superseding Indictment itself, the United States represents that the investigation of Miske’s co-conspirators in planning and carrying out the kidnapping and murder of Fraser remains ongoing and is not complete.

Prosecutors also disclosed one of the documents during the earlier proceedings had been filed under seal on February 8, 2019, and kept secret, even from Hawaii Partners, the owner of the boat and plaintiff in lawsuit seeking the boat’s return.

In this latest filing, prosecutors argue that the February 8 memo should remain sealed because it deals with the ongoing murder investigation and could disclose information on witnesses and informants. However, they do not oppose release of other documents sought by the Civil Beat Law Center but asked the court four months in order to review each of the documents and propose redactions of sensitive information.

A hearing on the Civil Beat lawsuit and the latest response by prosecutors is scheduled for the morning of November 6, 2020 before Federal Judge Leslie Kobayashi.

See:

“Suit seeks documents relating to boat allegedly used in kidnapping and murder,” iLind.net, Sept. 3, 2020.

“Read the lawsuit seeking disclosure of court files about Mike Miske’s boat, ‘Painkiller’,” iLind.net, Sept. 9, 2020.