Hilo Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto on Tuesday sentenced a 62-year-old Naalehu woman to life in prison plus 20 years for the 2009 shooting death of Kaycee Smith, a 21-year-old rodeo champion.
On Nov. 27, a jury of eight men and four women found Patricia Hanoa Wong guilty of second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and two counts of criminal solicitation of second-degree murder.
The life sentence, for murder and attempted murder is with the possibility of parole. Nakamoto ordered the 20 year sentence for conspiracy and solicitation to be served consecutively to the life sentence.
Smith was found dead of a single gunshot wound to her head on June 30, 2009, in her rented Orchidland Drive home in Puna.
During the trial, Deputy Prosecutors Annaliese Wolf and Matthew Woodward said the state didn’t have to prove a motive, but laid out a case that Wong, who called Smith a “hanai daughter,” killed her for her money.
Smith had inherited at least $250,000 in life insurance money after the 2007 death of her father, Noel “Bear” Smith. Smith and Wong had opened a joint credit union account, with Smith initially contributing $91,000 and Wong $3,500, according to prosecutors.
That account — which had about $35,000 when Smith was killed — had a right of survivorship clause, which means if one of the joint owners dies, the other is the beneficiary of all the money.
Two defense witnesses, Frank Costa, a former boyfriend of Smith, and Peter Fuerte, a childhood friend of Wong, both said Wong offered them money to kill Smith. Fuerte, who was also indicted as an accomplice, pleaded guilty to obtaining a gun for Wong — not the firearm police said was the murder weapon.
Fuerte, 56, was sentenced Feb. 15 to five years in prison for first-degree hindering prosecution, a Class C felony. Fuerte was already incarcerated for an unrelated criminal conviction.
Wong didn’t testify in the trial. Her attorney, Aaron Wills, contended the state didn’t have sufficient evidence to convict his client.
“We are glad the court recognized the severity of the actions taken by the defendant by handing down a consecutive sentence,” Wolf said. “She made a plan to commit murder and took relentless criminal actions to achieve her goal of killing Kaycee Smith. The court has provided a clear and strong message to the defendant that her actions were abhorrent, egregious and deserved the most serious punishment — and that there is no place for this kind of heinous conduct in our community.”
“We hope that this sentencing brings some sense of closure for Kaycee Smith’s ‘ohana and friends,” added county Prosecutor Kelden Waltjen. “This would not be possible without the hard work of our police, victim advocates, and prosecutors …. I would also like to the thank the jury for their time and service.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.