HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The man accused of beating his father to death in their Liliha apartment on Wednesday may have been having a mental health breakdown, according to statements in newly released court documents.
32-year-old Joshua Israel Black is expected in court on Tuesday on charges of murder in the second degree.
He was arrested after his father, Jesus Israel Black, was found with severe facial injuries inside their home. Black died at the hospital a few hours later.
According to a warrant for Joshua Black’s arrest, officers first encountered him outside the home about an hour before his father was found. Police were responding to a suspicious circumstances call at the intersection of Aipaako Street and N. Kuakina Street.
Officers said it looked like Joshua was covered in blood and “Appeared to be having a possible mental health issue or was possibly under the influence of an unknown narcotic.”
He was eventually handcuffed and taken to Queen’s Medical Center for a mental health evaluation.
Joshua’s mother later told police that Joshua had Schizophrenia, and was given a new medication the day before the attack. She also said he’d stopped taking his previous medication about a year ago and was using medical marijuana.
She said he texted her the day of the attack, saying, “’I feel unwell, a little sketched out.’”
She told police she texted her husband, Jesus, about an hour later, and he said everything was okay. She found him badly beaten and barely recognizable when she returned home from work later that day.
Joshua is held on $500,000 bail.
If convicted, he could face increased penalties for elder abuse since Jesus was 70-years-old.
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