A Hilo grand jury on Wednesday indicted a 31-year-old Hilo woman accused of stabbing her elderly father-in-law and taking her 1-year-old daughter from him in violation of both a custodial order and protective order.
The four-count indictment charges Frances Hartman with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree custodial interference, second-degree terroristic threatening and violating an order for protection.
Hartman, who is in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center in lieu of $1.02 million, had a hearing scheduled for Sept. 21 in Hilo District Court.
That hearing is moot, however, as the indictment moves the case to Hilo Circuit Court for arraignment and plea before Judge Henry Nakamoto once Hartman is rearrested and booked.
According to police, Hartman’s 77-year-old father-in-law, William Hartman, was playing with his year-old granddaughter in his yard in Hilo’s Komohana Gardens subdivision at about 9:16 a.m. Aug. 31 when his estranged daughter-in-law entered the property. William Hartman reportedly told officers Frances Hartman threatened to kill him if he didn’t give her the baby.
When the senior citizen refused, Frances Hartman allegedly stabbed him twice with a box cutter, took the child and fled on foot.
Police apprehended Francis Hartman a short time later at a nearby neighborhood park and returned the baby unharmed to the child’s father and sole legal custodian, Alexander Hartman.
Police also recovered the box cutter with the bloody blade after executing a search warrant on a bag carried by Frances Hartman.
Hilo District Family Court Judge Jeffrey Ng on June 18 granted Alexander Hartman and the couple’s daughter an order for protection from Frances Hartman,
effective until Jan. 18, 2025.
Frances Hartman also was serving a two-year probation term after being sentenced by Hilo District Family Court Judge Darien Nagata on May 11 for violating a previous TRO.
The victim of that TRO violation was Alexander Hartman.
Prosecutors have provided notice to seek an extended term of imprisonment, alleging that Frances Hartman is an offender against the elderly.
An extended prison term would mean that Hartman would face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted on the attempted murder charge.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
