Edhat Staff
Police at the crime scene on Kowalski Ave (Photo by an edhat reader)
By edhat staff
A Santa Barbara woman has been charged with premeditated First Degree Murder in the stabbing death of her mother.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce E. Dudley announced today that a felony complaint has been filed in the case against Leinani McClintic, 41, of Santa Barbara, California. The felony complaint charges Leinani McClintic with willful, premeditated and deliberate First Degree Murder under Penal Code Section 187(a) in connection with the April 8, 2020 stabbing death of Hiilani Mikaitis, 76, of Santa Barbara, California. It is also alleged that the defendant personally used a deadly weapon causing death within the meaning of Penal Code Section 12022(b).
On Wednesday morning, Roger the Scanner Guy reported a domestic dispute resulting in a fatality in the 1500 block of Kowalski Ave. The Santa Barbara Police Department confirmed responding to a call for service at 9:11 a.m. with a report of a person down. Upon arrival, they found a deceased victim and took a suspect into custody.
According to a 2009 obituary for McClintic’s father, she is the daughter of Mikaitis. Both have previously lived in Anahola, Hawaii and it’s unclear how long they’ve lived in Santa Barbara.
McClintic was placed on the calendar in Santa Barbara Superior Court this morning. Judge Von Deroian set bail at $2,000,000 and continued the arraignment to April 13, 2020 in Department 8. The case has been assigned to Senior Deputy District Attorney Ben Ladinig.
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So sad. Neighbors on next-door said there was a history of mental health calls to the house but not sure if that’s true or not. So awful. Thankfully the school right next door was not in session.
Based on the mugshot, I’m going to assume meth?
The killer has two kids, too. Sad.
I’m going to assume you have inside info about this case if your going to assume meth…
Whoa, I think that mug shot is going to give me night mares
A lot of stress can happen when you’re cooped up with another person for a month. If you’re unstable to begin with and there’s a history of issues, a recipe for tragedy.
Formerly of Anahola, HI. Anahola means deadly winds in Hawaiian. OK then.
This girl was once normal with a good life and a normal family, unfortunately years of substance abuse has made the person you see in this picture , Hiilani was one of the kindest person you can imagine and tried everything in her power to help Nani out , every person is entitled to their opinion or theory of this tragedy but honestly as one person observed on here the picture is pretty obvious what the issue is and yes that is inside knowledge. This is beyond horrible and no one saw this coming and everyone has a right to express themselves but please before you make a comment PLEASE remember that her son who lives here will most likely be reading this article for information just like I did and although he had no contact with his mother for the past couple years due to her poor choices and not willing to complete a rehab he lost a grandmother who he loved dearly so please be polite if at all possible
Echoes of Vigo the Carpathian from Ghostbusters 2.
Agreed SB Tahoe – thank you. We still must acknowledge most of all The Woman who died. She was a sincerely wonderful person. Flawed in her blinding love for her daughter yet, a beautiful heart, giving, funny, kind woman who loved serving God most of all. My prayers are with her two wonderful grandkids. Please don’t let her daughter’s horrid actions take away from all the beauty that was Hilani and the grief her family and friends are feeling right now.
She certainly looks cross about something.
Yes, I hesitated to make a remark but, I new Nani since she was 13. Many of us who knew her mom Hilani know how huge her heart was. Her passion for life. So young at heart and funny. How much she tried to help her daughter. To know Hilani was to love her. The friend I knew is not the girl in the mugshot. Untreated addiction and mental health issues are very real. My heart and prayers are with her grandkids, her sons and all those that loved her. This is such a horrific loss. I’m so angry and sad but, please be respectful for her sons and grandchildren sake, they have to actually live through this nightmare.