Murder, She Wrote 11.4 “Death in Hawaii”

Jessica has just finished a book tour that took her through six countries in two weeks, and is now trying to take a well deserved rest in Honolulu, Hawaii. While there, she meets up with an old friend whose family is heavily involved in an upcoming political election.

When one of her friend’s sons goes missing after announcing he’s going swimming in the ocean, Jessica Fletcher investigates his whereabouts — and subsequently discovers a murder!

Just the facts:

Click on the text below to reveal spoilers.

Click to reveal the victim

It was Ben Kamaka, the Kinkaid family’s gardener!

Click to reveal the killer

It was Liz Dougherty, Jeff Kinkaid’s financee!

Click to reveal the weapon

It was a gunshot!

Click to reveal the location

The body was found in a building at the old Kinkaid sugar mill!

Click to reveal the motive

The killer wanted to protect her fiancee’s political campaign by trying to ensure nobody found out about the money laundering associated with the campaign funds!

Click to reveal the major clue

It was the silver stripe on the left shoulder of the diving suit that Danny’s attacker was wearing!

Cast of characters (in order of appearance):

• Tom Hallick as D.A. Randall Thompson, who is running for senator. This is Hallick’s third and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in “Ballad for a Blue Lady” and “Murder in a Minor Key“.
• Marty Rackham as Boone Aldridge, spying on Randall Thompson on behalf of his rival’s political campaign.
• Ken Howard as Matt Kinkaid, a hotel owner whose son is running for senator and who is old friends with Jessica. This is Howard’s fifth and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in “The Mole“, “Jack and Bill“, “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall“, and “Murder at the Oasis”.
• James F. Kelly as Brett Reynolds, a banker who is raising money for Kinkaid’s political campaign.
• Karen Lew as the Registration Clerk at Jessica’s hotel.
• Robert Duncan McNeill as Danny Kinkaid, Matt Kinkaid’s son who is working for Randall Thompson’s campaign.
• Ted W. Henning as Jeff Kinkaid, Matt Kinkaid’s son who is running for senator against Randall Thompson.
• Gretchen German as Liz Dougherty, Jeff Kinkaid’s financee.
• Tamlyn Tomita as Det. Sharon Matsumoto, working for the Hawaii Police Department and dating Danny Kinkaid.
• Steve Park as Joe Yoshanaga, a man hired by Danny Kinkaid to investigate money laundering at Brett Reynolds’ bank.
• David Tress as Martin Osborn, a shady businessman putting pressure on Brett Reynolds to ensure that Kinkaid wins the election.
• Nina Foch as Rebecca Kinkaid, the matriarch of the Kinkaid family. This is Foch’s second and final appearance on MSW; she previously appeared in “Tainted Lady“.
• Ata Scanlan as Ben Kamaka, the Kinkaids’ gardener and Danny Kinkaid’s best friend.
• Steven Ruge as Honolulu P.D. Detective who reports on the evidence after Matt Kinkaid is arrested.

Final thoughts and other trivia:

The episode includes several outdoor scenes filmed on location at Gulls Way Estate in Malibu (which was previously used in the episode “Angel of Death“) and the Queen Anne Cottage at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden (which was previously used in the episode “Night of the Tarantula“).

Interestingly, it appears that although the episode aired in October 1994, the events it depicted actually took place in August of that year as there’s one scene that clearly shows a desk calendar belonging to one of the characters.