The daughter and granddaughter of two women shot to death 4 1/2 years ago in Hilo emotionally asked a judge to sentence the perpetrator to a life sentence without parole.
Taiana Ahu, who was 15 and present when Sean Ivan Masa Matsumoto killed her 45-year-old mother, Rhonda Ahu, and 74-year-old grandmother, Elaine Ahu, with a shotgun on Feb. 11, 2013, in a Waiakea Houselots home, told Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura that Matsumoto — who was her mother’s live-in boyfriend — “put us through hell.”
“He took away my mom. He took away my mother’s mom,” Taiana Ahu told the judge. “… Unfortunately, my brother will never have somebody there to watch him graduate, to physically be there for him.”
Taiana Ahu asked Nakamura to “do the right thing” and sentence Matsumoto to a life sentence without parole.
“He doesn’t deserve … freedom, because he doesn’t know what it’s like to lose somebody you love,” the young woman said.
Nakamura asked Taiana Ahu if the state explained the terms of the plea agreement, and she replied it had.
Matsumoto pleaded guilty June 29 to two counts of second-degree murder, which has a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole, and use of a firearm in the commission of a separate felony, which carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence. In return for his plea, prosecutors dropped a charge of first-degree murder, which was lodged because there was more than one victim, which carries the mandatory life without parole sentence upon conviction.
Matsumoto is free to seek parole in 15 years — although when, if ever, he is freed will be determined by the Hawaii Paroling Authority.
Deputy Prosecutor Kelden Waltjen noted the sentence in the case is “preordained” before describing Matsumoto as “a selfish, cold-blooded killer who should spend the rest of his life behind bars.”
Waltjen told the judge Matsumoto was paranoid because of his addiction to crystal methamphetamine, “obsessed with his girlfriend and wrongfully paranoid, believing she was cheating on him.” He added that Matsumoto thought Elaine Ahu “hated him.”
Rhonda Ahu bought the shotgun that ultimately killed her mother and her for Matsumoto, who couldn’t legally buy or possess a firearm because of a domestic violence conviction. According to Waltjen, Rhonda Ahu was “one of the only people who truly cared for him.”
“That night, the defendant took his black, pistol-grip Mossberg 500 12-gauge shotgun and shot Rhonda in the head, while she was sitting on their recliner in the living room. … She was still holding her television remote control in her hand when her body was found by the police,” Waltjen said. “… He (then) walked down the hallway, peered into Elaine’s room where she lay asleep on her bed, next to her grandson, the defendant’s own 6-year-old son. This time, the defendant wanted the victim to see what was coming. He fired a single shot toward the bedroom ceiling to wake Elaine up. This was personal. Before firing the fatal shot … (the) defendant told Elaine, ‘This is for all the s—- you put me through all these years.’
“… Clearly, the defendant afforded no care or concern for his own son, who was sleeping right next to his nana.”
Stanton Oshiro, Matsumoto’s court-appointed attorney, said the prosecution and defense “differ in our view of what happened that evening.”
“Clearly, no one was there other than Mr. Matsumoto, the decedents and the children who were asleep at the time,” Oshiro told the judge. “… This case took a long time to resolve because there were many complicated issues, primarily regarding Mr. Matsumoto’s mental health and his problems therein.
“… Mr. Matsumoto does, to the extent that he can, regret what happened. He doesn’t quite understand what happened, even as we stand here today.”
Given his chance to address the court, Matsumoto uttered, in a soft voice, “All I just wanted to say is I’m sorry.”
Nakamura ordered that Matsumoto, who has been in custody since the night of the slayings, serve the agreed-upon sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole. The judge also ordered Matsumoto to make restitution of $4,487 to the state’s Crime Victim Compensation Commission and $510 to the Department of Human Services.
Afterward, Carole Luciano, Elaine Ahu’s sister, said tearfully, “I’m glad it’s over.”
“I mean, four and a half years, I think, is a little bit too long,” Luciano said. “You know, he murdered two people, with two innocent children in the home. And it’s just awful. I wish they would’ve given him life without parole.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
