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STAR-ADVERTISER / 2011
Paul C.K. Kaeo, seated next to defense lawyer Randall Hironaka, had been convicted of manslaughter in the 2009 beating death of Charles Kahumoku Jr.
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The Hawaii Supreme Court set aside a man’s manslaughter conviction Friday for the 2009 beating of his estranged wife’s boyfriend with a 2-foot-long metal reinforcing bar.
The high court ruled that Circuit Judge Karen Ahn should have permitted the jury to consider the lesser offense of first-degree assault.
The justices sent the case back to Circuit Court for a new trial for Paul C.K. Kaeo.
Kaeo, 49, went on trial on a charge of murdering Charles Kahumoku Jr. Kahumoku, 49, died from head injuries in the May 8, 2009, beating in Maili.
The jury returned a verdict convicting Kaeo of the lesser manslaughter charge of recklessly killing Kahumoku. Kaeo received a sentence of six to 20 years in prison.
In the appeal, Kaeo’s lawyers said the judge should have granted the defense request of allowing the jurors the option of returning a verdict on the lesser offense of first-degree assault, which carries a maximum 10-year term.
The high court agreed.
The new trial would be on the charge of manslaughter.
Murder carries a mandatory life term with parole.