Life without parole sought for suspect

The Maui prosecutor is seeking to put the man accused of killing Carly "Charli" Scott behind bars for the rest of his life.

A Maui grand jury returned an indictment July 11 charging Scott’s ex-boyfriend, Steven Capobianco, 24, with murder and arson.

The mandatory penalty for second-degree murder is life in prison with the opportunity for release on parole. The indictment, however, charges Capobianco with killing Scott "in an especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel manner, manifesting exceptional depravity." That makes him eligible, if found guilty, for an enhanced sentence of life in prison without the possibility for parole.

Scott, 27, was five months pregnant when she disappeared Feb. 9. Her body has not been found.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

NTSB report on Molokai crash expected Friday

The National Transportation Safety Board expects to release next week a probable cause for a 2011 Molokai helicopter crash that killed all five people aboard.

Pilot Nathan Cline, newlyweds Michael and Nicole Abel of Pittsburgh, and Canadian couple Stuart Robertson and Eva Birgitta Wannersjo of Toronto died when the Blue Hawaiian Helicopters Eurocopter EC-130 crashed into mountains above an elementary school and burned. They were on a 45-minute sightseeing tour of West Maui and Molokai.

The agency’s statement on the probable cause is expected Friday, NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said.

The agency released a factual report last week, indicating the investigation is in the final stages. According to the report, the engine was disassembled and examined, revealing "no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation."

$1M settlement reached in suit against driver

LIHUE >> A settlement has been reached in a wrongful-death lawsuit involving a 26-year-old pedestrian.

The Garden Island reported the $1.1 million settlement was reached in the lawsuit against 83-year-old Robert Wayne Yount, and the civil case will be dismissed.

The Kauai Police Department reported that on March 16, 2013, Yount was driving an SUV when he allegedly hit Jill Garnett of Waimea as she walked along the shoulder of Kaumualii Highway.

Yount also faces criminal charges, including first-degree negligent homicide, but he was found unfit to stand trial and is in custody at the Hawaii State Hospital.

Associated Press