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Ewa Beach man pleads guilty to killing 97-year-old woman

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Jamm Aquino / jaquino@staradvertiser.com

An Ewa Beach man accused of setting a fire that resulted in the death of a 97-year-old Pearl City woman at her home in March, pleaded guilty in state court today to manslaughter and several burglaries.

Michael P. Dahilig, 35, entered a plea agreement in which he would be sentenced to 35 years in prison and serve a minimum of 11 years before being eligible for parole. 

Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro agreed to drop the arson charge.

Lee is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 20.

Dahilig has been held in Oahu Community Corrections Center since April, when he was indicted by an Oahu grand jury on charges of manslaughter, arson, burglary, attempted burglary and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia. His bail had been set at $1 million.

Prosecutors said Dahilig used a lighter torch in an attempt to break into a storage shed of a house at 1888 Hoo­­m­a­lolo St. on March 30. The shed caught fire and Dahilig fled. The fire then spread to the house.

A resident of the house, Betty Hagihara, died in the fire from smoke inhalation. Two other people in the home escaped with the help of a neighbor.

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