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A 34-year-old unemployed Hilo man called 911 Monday night and reported he just shot two people in his Hilo home, according to a police report filed in Hilo District Court.
While Sean Matsumoto was still on his cellphone with the 911 dispatcher, police officers arrived at the home and found the lifeless bodies of the two women, the report said.
"I’m sorry. I know I had the gun in my hand," Matsumoto told the officers, according to the report, and then asked, "Is my son OK?"
Matsumoto is charged with first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, first-degree reckless endangering, and weapons offenses in the deaths of his 45-year-old girlfriend and her 74-year-old mother.
Police identified the women as Rhonda Ahu, 45, who also lived at the 612 Leilani St. home, and her mother, Elaine Ahu, 74. Autopsies on Friday showed they each died of a single gunshot wound to the head.
The police report said officers discovered the body of a woman with an apparent gunshot wound to the head and face in the living room and found a loaded black 12-gauge shotgun on the sofa, seven feet away from the body. The officers then found the body of another woman in the southeast bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head and face.
Police said two children were inside the house at the time of the shooting but were unhurt and taken into the care of relatives.
A complaint alleges Matsumoto "fired a firearm in a manner which recklessly placed another person, T.M., a minor, in danger of death or serious bodily injury."
Matsumoto pleaded not guilty Thursday at Hilo District Court and was denied bail.
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