By Sandra Gonzales
sgonzales@mercurynews.com
Posted: 03/22/2010 10:17:33 PM PDT
Updated: 03/22/2010 11:34:08 PM PDT
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San Jose resident Karen Marie Celaya, 52, right, with her daughter, Crystal... ( Celaya Family )
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A San Jose man has been arrested in the death of his girlfriend, who was fatally injured after a fall from the second-floor balcony of their Kona, Hawaii, hotel room.
Hawaii police identified the suspect as William Brill, 58, whom the victim's family said is a San Jose civil service commissioner, a former police and fire retirement board member, and a union representative for PG&E.
No one at San Jose City Hall, however, could confirm it was the same Brill, who has been arrested on suspicion of homicide in the death of Karen Marie Celaya, 52, of San Jose.
About 10:20 a.m. Saturday, Hawaii police learned of the woman's death after hotel guests heard a heated argument coming from the room the pair occupied.
Her body was found on the rocks below her balcony.
Autopsy results to determine the cause of death are pending.
Celaya's friends and family said the couple had been together for the past five years in a relationship they described as "unhealthy."
"He was very controlling, very demeaning and he belittled her," said Rozalyn Mendence, who said she was Celaya's best friend.
Still, the news of her death and Brill's arrest was shocking.
"How could this have happened? We're pretty devastated," Mendence said. Celaya's family did not want her to go on this trip, the couple's second vacation to Hawaii in five months.
Celaya's daughter, Crystal Chacon, said that Brill was preoccupied with his
"Bill's whole world was to maintain a good image. He thought of himself very highly," Chacon said.
"He often would talk down to her," she said. "I wanted her to be with someone who treated her and loved her unconditionally and I didn't see that."
Now, instead of planning her fall wedding, Chacon must bury her mother, who had worked for AT&T for more than three decades.
"She worked hard for everything she had in this world," she said.
Hawaii police ask that anyone with information about the case call the Kona police station at 808-326-4646 or the police department's nonemergency line at 808-935-3311.
Those who wish to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 808-329-8181 in Kona or (808) 961-8300 in Hilo.
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