State briefs for May 18

Court-martial in Army love triangle death

HONOLULU (AP) — An Army medic charged with conspiring with his lover to kill his wife in Hawaii will be court-martialed for child pornography and prostitution charges that surfaced while investigating the killing.

Sgt. Michael Walker’s general court-martial is set for June 20 and June 21 at Wheeler Army Airfield on Oahu, said Jim Guzior, spokesman for Tripler Army Medical Center, where Walker has been assigned since 2013. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for next week.

Walker has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in civilian court in the killing of Catherine Walker, who was found stabbed to death in November 2014 in the military housing the couple shared in Honolulu.

Army prosecutors revealed new allegations during a military judicial hearing in March, where they said Michael Walker is accused of possessing and viewing child pornography and receiving money in exchange for sex with men.

His Army defense attorneys couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Tuesday. “Sgt. Walker is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law,” Guzior said.

Walker allegedly posted on Craigslist soliciting three men to have sex in exchange for his receiving money, the Army said.

Child pornography video and photos were found on Walker’s laptop during a November 2014 search, with additional images and video found during an April 2015 search, the Army said.

In December, Ailsa Jackson pleaded guilty to murder and described in a Honolulu federal courtroom how she stabbed Catherine Walker and then waited a half-hour to make sure she was dead.

After meeting through an online dating site in September 2014, Walker told Jackson he was married and that his “deepest desire” was to have his wife gone, but he couldn’t divorce her, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Brady said during Jackson’s plea hearing. The two then discussed Jackson carrying out the killing while Walker was at work so that he would have an alibi, Brady said.

Walker had an affair with Jackson, but he loves his wife and didn’t want her killed, his attorney in the civilian case, Birney Bervar, said after Jackson pleaded guilty. The couple, married for more than 11 years and originally from upstate New York, were about to undergo in-vitro fertilization after about a decade of trying to have a baby, he said.

Bervar declined to comment on the court-martial, saying those charges aren’t part of the civilian case.

Union accused of misusing funds bought $680K beachfront home

HONOLULU (AP) — The leader of a Hawaii electrical workers union who is accused of misusing the organization’s funds is defending himself for a $680,000 purchase of a Kauai beachfront home that serves as an office for union members.

Brian Ahakuelo said the two-bedroom home for members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1260 was a prudent investment. The purchase of the property, which closed in February, was funded by the 2014 sale of the union’s former headquarters.

The union’s international office has found that Ahakuelo misused union money by buying first-class flights, making fraudulent credit card charges and paying “excessive salaries” to relatives, who also work for the union.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that five of Ahakuelo’s family members have worked for the union, including his wife and son. A financial filing says all five had pay ranges between $77,600 and $143,000. Ahakuelo earned more than $200,000 in 2015.

Critics say the purchase of the Kauai property is another example of lavish spending by Ahakuelo.

“Why you would need a retreat on Kauai? I don’t think a lot of members would understand that or want that,” said Teresa Morrison, former staff attorney for the union. “I can’t see why that would be necessary.”

Ahakuelo has denied any wrongdoing.

A union hearing on the allegations against him is scheduled for May 23.