Once information is made public, it's no longer private. Here's a legal opinion on a similar issue in another state:
"In consideration of the details that have already been published and made widely known to the public, it seems unlikely that records or portions of records pertaining directly to either of the deceased persons would, if disclosed, constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."
link to source
Again, public interest doesnt just mean, people are curious.
This information relates directly to a constitutional requirement of public office that voters have a right and expectation to know. Requests aren't being made out of simple curiosity. You're making unnecessary excuses.
'the request involved copies of all state police reports related to the Sept. 23, 2006, homicide-suicide of Wendy and James Dirk at their home... '
Some differences from the situation you are trying to equate it to:
You also omit an interesting part of the opinion, after the portion on "widely known to the public":
Second and perhaps most importantly, the Freedom of Information Law is based upon a presumption of access. Stated differently, all records of an agency are available, except to the extent that records or portions thereof fall within one or more grounds for denial appearing in §87(2)(a) through (j) of the Law.
In other words, the most important point is the police must follow the Freedom of Information Law, except for those records excluded by law.
Find a judge who says "public interest" compels Hawaii's DOH to release information that is clearly protected by 338-18 (a) and (b). So far, despite many lawsuits, no judge has seen this your way.