Kai Kalba Direct

Can you please state your name for the court?

Hi there, my name is Kai Kalba

What is your occupation?

I work with my family business, Bluehawk Dock as a Senior Dockhand. 

What do you do as a dockhand?

Short answer: maintain the dock. Long answer: tying up boats, managing reservations, and maintaining safety by IDing and signing in members.

How are you involved in today’s case?

I worked the day that Nickie Benton passed.

How did that day, April 25, 2025 start for you?

Like any normal day. I was scheduled from noon to 10pm, so I arrived at the dock at 11:45 AM. I was checking the Dropbox by our front gate for any charter notices from the previous shift when I saw that Mattie Harrold had a charter scheduled for 2:00 PM.

Who is Mattie Harrold?

Mattie Harrold is the Captain of The Griffin. In fact, when I got there, Captain Harrold was checked in and already down by the waterfront.

What is The Griffin?

That’s actually the boat Captain Harrold chartered to Nickie. When I tell you she kept that thing cleaner than a baby’s bum.

What did you do after seeing Captain Harrold?

Well shortly after seeing her, I heard footsteps and sure enough it was Nickie and Abi, what a cute couple. 

What happened with Abi Angelo and Nickie Benton?

After I ID them and checked them in, Abi started asking me questions about if someone named August Slaughter “still work[ed] for The Anchor across the way?”. At that point in time, I had no idea who August Slaughter even was but I’ll tell you, with all those questions Abi was asking, Nickie started fidgeting with their watch and appeared a bit nervous.

What else did Abi say? 

Well the questions eventually ended as Abi said it was fine. Abi even said, “I’m probably being paranoid, but sometimes I just can’t help it when it comes to my ex.

Let’s switch gears a little bit: When did August Slaughter appear in the picture?

August appeared in the weirdest way because I didn’t even hear footsteps or knocking but it was after Abi left and Nickie went on a walk around the dock. 

 Did you end up speaking to August Slaughter?

Of course I had to since I had to check them in! And this is where it gets crazy, when I asked who they were, August told me they were, “Jaylen Hasting” which was weird because Hasting was usually spelled with an S. After I explained I needed to sign them in due to our security policy, that’s when they told me their real name was August Slaughter and their nickname was Jaylen Hasting.

And after signing Slaughter in, what happened?

Well they told me the reason they were there. They said, “I’m here to help out Nickie Benton. The Griffin is leaving soon, right? I can’t miss Nickie.”

What did August do after signing in?

We were walking to the Griffin when my service belt snapped, and August helped me pick up my scattered tools. After that, I sent August on their way while I returned back to work.  

What happened when Nickie returned?

When Nickie returned, the Griffin was leaving and it was only Nickie on the boat. Plus, I noticed some strange noises coming from the boat, and let me tell you, I literally work on a dock and I have never heard a boat make that noise before! 

What happened after The Griffin left?

I was going to clean up the doc because of oil pools and muddy footprints when I noticed my service belt was lighter than normal. It turns out, my wire cutter and my screwdriver were missing

Would you recognize your tools if shown them today in court?

Of course I would! 

What happened after you noticed your tools were missing?

As I was looking for them, I noticed the gate was also wide open! When I went over to take care of that, my sign in sheet was all messed up too! At this point, I was thinking about how I didn’t get paid enough for all of this!!

Would you recognize this sign-in sheet today in court?

Yes ma’am I would. 

Who wrote in August’s name?

That would be me. I also wrote in Nickie, and Abi’s names

Who scratched out August’s name?

Now I don’t know that, but I can tell you it was not me!