Maui man accused of fatally electrocuting girlfriend several times and trying to flee to Oregon

MAUI, Hawaii (TCD) -- A 54-year-old man faces a murder charge after police allege he electrocuted a woman and drove her body to a nearby hospital.

According to the Maui Police Department, on Sunday, June 19, at 8:31 a.m., officers were called to the Kula Hospital for a report of an unresponsive woman who was brought to the emergency room. When they arrived, Maui Police learned the victim, 42-year-old Angela Johnson, had been pronounced dead by the attending emergency room physician. The doctor reportedly determined she died before she got to the hospital.

On Tuesday, June 21, Brian Sherrell was taken into custody on a count of second-degree murder.

KHON-TV reports police located Sherrell at the Kahului Airport as he was trying to board a flight to Oregon. Sherrell’s attorney argued he was going to see family.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Anthony Herndon reportedly called Johnson’s death "particularly heinous" and asked for life in prison without the possibility of parole if Sherrell is convicted.

According to KHON, Herndon said Sherrell "realized the victim was in serious condition," so he allegedly took wires in a "misguided attempt" to "do an at-home treatment for her." He then allegedly electrocuted her several times in her chest.

Herndon noted the emergency room doctor "would not even take the patient in because she was clearly deceased by that doctor’s estimation and by the vital signs he took."

The Maui News reports Johnson and Sherrell were in a relationship. She reportedly suffered blunt force trauma to her body and suffered from "multiple bruising [and] multiple injuries to the head," according to the criminal complaint cited by The Maui News.

Investigators allegedly discovered "blood evidence in numerous places" in Sherrell’s home.

Sherrell is reportedly being held without bail.

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