A 36-year-old Hilo man accused of the shotgun slayings of his longtime girlfriend and her mother almost three years ago might receive a second round of mental examinations to determine his fitness for trial.
A 36-year-old Hilo man accused of the shotgun slayings of his longtime girlfriend and her mother almost three years ago might receive a second round of mental examinations to determine his fitness for trial.
Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura set a hearing for 9:30 a.m. Nov. 25 to consider the motion made Monday by Stanton Oshiro, court-appointed defense attorney for Sean Ivan Masa Matsumoto.
Deputy Prosecutor Kelden Waltjen said the state has no objection to a hearing on the motion.
Matsumoto faces charges of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, three other firearms offenses, plus reckless endangering for the fatal shootings of 45-year-old Rhonda Lynn Alohalani Ahu and her mother, 74-year-old Elaine Ahu, on Feb. 11, 2013, at their Leilani Street home in Hilo’s Waiakea Houselots neighborhood.
The first-degree murder charge, which carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole upon conviction, is because there is more than one victim.
Matsumoto was arrested at the scene, and court documents state a loaded .12-gauge shotgun was lying on the living room sofa, about 7 feet away from one of the victims.
Two children were in the home when the late-night shooting occurred. One, Rhonda Ahu’s then-15-year-old daughter, “saw everything,” according to a relative. The other child was Matsumoto’s and Rhonda Ahu’s then-6-year-old son, the girl’s half-brother.
Nakamura found Matsumoto fit to stand trial Jan. 17, 2014, after two of three court appointed mental examiners — psychologist Dr. Thomas Cunningham and psychiatrist Dr. Andrew Bisset — opined he was fit. A third examiner, psychiatrist Dr. Henry Wang, said Matsumoto suffers from a “substance-induced psychotic disorder secondary to methamphetamine abuse” that would render him unfit.
Matsumoto, who quietly answered questions posed by the judge Monday, generally was quiet or soft-spoken in court hearings prior to being ruled fit for trial, but became argumentative in a couple of hearings last year after being found fit.
He told Nakamura on July 16, 2014, he wouldn’t appear for court hearings unless the judge replaced Deputy Public Defender Jeff Ng, whom Matsumoto complained “thinks I’m guilty.” Nakamura ordered Matsumoto removed from the hearing for arguing but eventually granted his request and appointed Oshiro to represent him.
On July 21, 2014, Matsumoto also demanded a change of venue, saying the proceedings are “all corrupted” and his slain girlfriend was related to Mayor Billy Kenoi.
That request was not granted and, according to court records, no written motion for a change of venue has been filed.
Matsumoto is being held without bail at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.