A 50-year-old man accused of shooting his wife and two children to death last year in the family’s Leilani Estates home was found mentally fit to stand trial.
A 50-year-old man accused of shooting his wife and two children to death last year in the family’s Leilani Estates home was found mentally fit to stand trial.
On Tuesday, acting Hilo Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto ordered John Ali Hoffman to appear for trial at 8:30 a.m. Aug. 14. Nakamoto based his fitness rulings on the reports of Drs. Andrew Bissett, Henry Yang and Frederic Manke.
Hoffman faces charges of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder, illegally carrying a firearm and use of a firearm in the commission of separate felony for the May 6 slayings of his 40-year-old wife, Aracely Hoffman, their 10-year-old daughter, Clara Hoffman, and their 7-year-old son, John “Junior” Hoffman.
If convicted of the first-degree murder charge, Hoffman faces a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The second-degree murder charges carry a mandatory life sentence with the possibility of parole.
There were none of the histrionics that marked Hoffman’s initial court appearance in May, when he told Hilo District Judge Harry Freitas he wanted to represent himself as his “own sovereign person” and requesting Freitas recuse himself, saying “information that could be vital to this case … creates a conflict of interest, judge, and it’s a breach of national security.”
Hoffman answered Nakamoto’s questions in a subdued, almost inaudible voice. He answered the questions “Can you speak, read and understand English?” and “You understand what’s going on this morning?” with “Barely.”
Several family members of the slain woman, who originally was from El Salvador, were in court, as they have been for every scheduled hearing. A family friend, Ramón Manuel Figueroa-Centeno, who has been acting as their interpreter, said they are “a little bit calmer now that it’s not so recent.”
“It’s hard to understand why it takes so long, but that’s the American justice system,” Figueroa-Centeno said. “(Hoffman) has his rights, and it’s important that the thing run smoothly and there not be a possibility of an appeal (overturning a conviction).
“… They’re very strong. They went through the wars in El Salvador. They’ve seen people killed and all of that. To come to this country, where you feel you’re safe, and this happens. What can you do?”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.