LAIE, Hawaii – People in Manti Teo's small Hawaii hometown are offering support for the Notre Dame linebacker after the story of his girlfriend and her death from Leukemia were revealed as a hoax.
No one answered the door Wednesday evening at Te'o's parents' home in the small coastal town of Laie on Oahu's northern shore where Te'o was born.
But members of the mostly Mormon community said they were dumbfounded, and didn't believe he would have knowingly perpetrated such a story.
Neighbor Katherine Lindsay, a retiree sitting in front of her home talking with friends, says she knows how people are raised in the community, and she could not go along with the idea that Te'o could be involved in the deception.
Notre Dame officials confirmed that the story was a hoax, but insist Te'o was the victim.
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