HILO, Hawai'i — A Big Island grand jury indicted a Puna man yesterday for allegedly murdering his ex-girlfriend in front of their 2-year-old son, and then setting the woman's car on fire with her body inside last week.

Jeffrey B. Santos Jr., 23, appeared in Hilo District Court yesterday wearing a bulletproof vest and surrounded by an unusually large contingent of corrections officers and Sheriff's deputies.

Louise Kim McCoy, spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Safety, said the extra security measures were put in place after members of the slain woman's family exchanged words with members of Santos' family in a court hearing earlier in the week.

Although there were no specific threats made in connection with the case, "the sheriffs initiated normal procedures to take extra precautionary measures because it is such a high-profile and highly emotional type of case," Kim McCoy said.

According to court records, Santos told police he shot 21-year-old Daysha I. Aiona Aka once in the head with a .22-caliber pistol as their son looked on, and then put her body in the woman's 2003 Mazda before setting the car on fire.

Santos led police to the burned car in a rainforest area of Pana'ewa outside of Hilo on Thursday, according to court records. Aiona Aka's body was later identified through dental records.

According to a statement filed by Aiona Aka in Family Court earlier this year, she had been in a relationship with Santos for six years, and the two lived together in 'Ainaloa Estates until last summer.

Aiona Aka moved out in August after she alleged Santos beat her during an argument, and in September she obtained a Family Court restraining order to keep Santos away from her.

However, family members said Aiona Aka continued to take her son to see Santos because she wanted the boy to know his father.

The grand jury yesterday indicted Santos on charges of second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, ownership or possession of a prohibited firearm, violating a protective order and second-degree arson.

District Court Judge Barbara Takase set bail for Santos at $500,000 earlier this week.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.