A former Orange County collegiate swimmer is facing a murder charge after prosecutors say that, while naked, he brutally beat a 63-year-old security guard to death with a 5-gallon water bottle.
Legend Storer, 20, was once a competitive swimmer who was a two-time champion in Hawaii’s Maui Interscholastic League and went on to be a member of the swim team at Concordia University in Irvine. He has pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges of second-degree murder, first-degree burglary and indecent exposure, according to court records.
Storer, a resident of Lahaina, remains in custody.
Myles S. Breiner, one of the attorneys for Storer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for Concordia University confirmed that Storer was a student for the 2024-25 academic year and was a member of the men’s swim team but did not return the following year.
According to the university’s website, he graduated from Maui Preparatory Academy in 2024, where he was a champion swimmer.
The Maui Police Department said in a written statement that the incident occurred shortly after 3 a.m. on Aug. 5 when a police dispatcher received a report of a naked man wandering through a Kahana neighborhood.
The area is a peaceful, scenic beachfront community on the northwest coast of Maui, according to real estate company Hawai’i Life.
It was there that Maui police officers came across Storer, who had numerous abrasions, according to the statement. Storer, who was not named in the statement but was later identified in court records, was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center for evaluation, according to police.
Two hours later, Maui police officers responded to reports of an unresponsive male at the Sands of Kahana, a condominium resort at 4299 Lower Honoapi’ilani Road in Lahaina.
Arriving officers learned from paramedics that a 63-year-old Lahaina man had died from injuries he sustained at the location. Authorities later identified the man as Michael Dyer. According to a fundraiser for Dyer’s wife, he was working an overnight shift as a security guard at the condominium complex. Police investigators, who reviewed surveillance security footage, said that at 1:45 a.m., a naked man wandered into the victim’s office and assaulted him before fleeing on foot.
“Investigators subsequently determined that the male located in Kahana was the same individual depicted in the surveillance footage,” the statement read.
Claudia Reed, a resident of the area, told Hawaii News Now that she heard “a lot of screaming and commotion” and that the incident left her feeling unsafe.
Maui police said that after Storer was released from the hospital he was taken to Wailuku Police Station, where he was booked into jail in connection with Dyer’s murder.
Dyer’s co-worker Bell Hill told Hawaii News Now that Dyer was having lunch when the attack occurred.
“He was a great person and he was just in his office having a cheeseburger on his lunch break,” Hill said. “It’s horrible.”
Family and friends of Dyer have since been trying to raise $28,000 on GoFundMe to help his wife, Joy, pay for funeral costs, living expenses and therapy sessions.
“Joy’s emotional journey is just beginning as she starts to process this devastating event,” the page reads. “They were married for 26 years.”