Shark Attack or Murder?
Jim Morris
By BRIAN PERRY
Staff Writer
KAANAPALI -- Beneath the tranquil scene of beachgoers enjoying Dig-Me
Beach on Prince Kuhio Day was a greater respect for, if not fear of, the
dangers in waters off West Maui.
Among a handful of visitors interviewed Friday by The Maui News, all had
heard the horrific tale of the March 18 shark attack involving kayaker
Manouchehr Monazzami-Taghadomi's new bride, Nahid Davoodabai.
That tragedy coupled with the March 5 shark attack on 29-year-old Robyne
Knutson, who was bitten in her thigh, left Pavel and Martina Sticha, a
couple from Berlin, wary of venturing far from shore.
``It was a little bit dangerous for us,'' said Martina Sticha, 35. ``We
don't want to go snorkeling.''
She said that in the seven or eight times she's visited Maui, this is
the first time she's been afraid of sharks or going into the water.
Orbie Cutsinger, a 76-year-old resident of Ojai, Calif., said he's
familiar with sharks, living as he does near the Santa Barbara Channel,
and knows attacks are rare.
``You're safer in the ocean than you are in the airplane that brings you
over here,'' he said.
Marc Radi, a 32-year-old San Diego resident, said he had heard about the
kayak incident before he left home.
He said one of his co-workers warned him not to take a kayak trip here,
and he doesn't plan to.
Jeff Lund, a 22-year-old Seattle resident who has gone scuba diving off
Maui on previous trips here, said he's not concerned about shark attacks
if he takes common-sense precautions like staying away from mouths of
streams and not venturing out too far.
Lund said that while businesses renting kayak gear should warn customers
about potential hazards such as adverse weather conditions, he doesn't
blame Extreme Sports Maui for the incident involving Monazzami and his
wife.
``There's a lot of naive people that don't respect the ocean,'' Lund
said.
Monazzami has maintained that he and his wife were not adequately warned
about forecasted wind and sea conditions although he asked about the
weather.
Extreme Sports Maui issued a news release Thursday expressing deep
regret about Monazzami's tragic loss. But the statement maintained that
Monazzami was told about a high surf and strong wind advisory.
``He was instructed to kayak in a sheltered area away from the wind and
to remain close to shore. In addition, Mr. Monazzami signed a rental
agreement explaining the dangers in detail associated with strong wind
and surf conditions related to water activities on the island of Maui,''
the news release says.
James Krueger, one of Maui's top personal injury attorneys, said last
week that someone on behalf of Monazzami had contacted his office. The
attorney said he had not yet studied the facts of the kayak incident.
But from news accounts, Extreme Sports may face some liability if a
kayak was rented to Monazzami with pending adverse weather conditions
and no directions as to where or where not to go, he said.
A key element in fastening liability is whether an adverse or dangerous
condition was foreseeable, Krueger said.
Krueger also said those who rent equipment like kayaks to customers have
a duty to inquire about their experience and expertise and to provide
them with information and training sufficient to do an activity safely.
National media clamor over kayak story
By LILA FUJIMOTO
Staff Writer
WAILUKU -- Police are fielding national media inquiries about the
disappearance of a California woman whose husband reported she was
attacked by a shark as they were kayaking in waters off Maui nearly two
weeks ago.
While no longer actively searching for Nahid Davoodabai, 29, of
Sunnyvale, Calif., detectives are continuing to investigate the case,
said Capt. Victor Tengan of the Maui Police Department Criminal
Investigation Division.
The woman's husband, Manouchehr Monazzami-Taghadomi, 39, told police the
shark bit off his wife's left arm March 18 after wind and waves swept
their rented kayak out to sea after they launched it from the Lahaina
side of the pali.
The woman died from blood loss, according to her husband, and when a
wave overturned the kayak, he was unable to hang on to her body.
Monazzami and the kayak landed on a beach at Kahoolawe. Naked except for
a life vest, he eventually made his way to a bunker containing a
recently installed telephone, which he used to call for help three days
later.
Monazzami left Maui over the weekend after being released from Maui
Memorial Medical Center and returning to Kahoolawe with detectives to
retrace the route he took from the beach to the telephone, Tengan said.
``We have got just what he's told us,'' Tengan said. ``We have nothing
to lead us to believe otherwise.''
He said police are still examining a blue life jacket, similar to one
used by Davoodabai, that washed ashore on Kahoolawe last Wednesday along
with a second set of oars possibly from the kayak. Both were found in
the same general shoreline area where the kayak was recovered, Tengan
said.
Workers on the former bombing target island called police after finding
the items.
Tengan said police have not found Davoodabai's body. Rumors to the
contrary surfaced after a 41-year-old woman who may have drowned was
pulled from waters fronting the Maui Prince Hotel in Makena on Monday
morning.
Davoodabai's body could still surface, Tengan said, despite the time
that has passed since her husband reported her missing.
He said police have received telephone calls seeking information about
the investigation from media in the San Jose-San Francisco area where
the couple lived, as well as from the National Enquirer, television
programs ``Inside Edition'' and ``Extra'' and Tom Brokaw of NBC.
In his five years as head of CID, Tengan said, other cases have received
media attention. ``None drew as much media hysteria as this one,'' he
said.
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