Escapee given 20 years in killing of Big Isle man

HILO >> A man who escaped from a mental hospital and went on to fatally stab a man on Hawaii island has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

David Seal was sentenced Thursday after pleading no contest to manslaughter in the November 2013 death of 32-year-old Rory Wick. Deputy Prosecutor Joseph Lee said the plea deal calls for Seal to return to the mental hospital after he completes his prison term, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Friday.

Seal was committed to the Hawaii State Hospital on Oahu in 2002 after being acquitted by reason of insanity in the kidnapping and attempted rape of an 8-year-old girl. He escaped from the facility in 2009 and had been living on Wick’s property when the stabbing occurred.

A local resident, Jun Mantupar, told the Tribune-Herald he had called CrimeStoppers about a month before the killing to report Seal had been taking martial arts lessons at a recreation center in Hilo under the name Serif Swaim.

“As the court is aware, at the time of the incident, the defendant had been on the run for four years after his escape from the Hawaii State Hospital. During that time he used an alias and lived among us in our own community,” said Deputy Prosecutor Kelden Waltjen.

When asked by Hilo Circuit Judge Glenn Hara whether he wanted to address the court, Seal replied, “No, except there’s no ‘David’ in my name, your honor.”

Members of Wick’s family said they wished Seal would have said more.

“What would drive someone to kill someone who was actually watching out for him and was concerned about his well-being? Why would that turn?” said Lucia Samuels, grandmother of Wick’s three young children. “Was it the drugs and alcohol or his mental state? What was it? Because I want to be able to say something to these children someday, as soon as the opportunity arises to explain it better to them.”