The suspect in a 7-year-old cold murder case was extradited to San Diego on Thursday to face charges that he killed his wife, according to a state prison official.
Honolulu police arrested Anthony Simoneau, 46, of Makaloa Street, on Sept. 4 on Sand Island Access Road on an extradition warrant issued by the San Diego District Attorney’s Office.
Simoneau was charged with killing his Japanese-born wife, Fumiko Ogawa, 41, in 2007. She was from Shimane prefecture, the westernmost region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan.
He faces a maximum of 25 years to life in prison if convicted of murder.
Simoneau was held in Oahu Community Correctional Center until Thursday morning after Circuit Judge Richard Perkins denied his request for bail. His public defender said Simoneau is not a flight risk and has ties to Hawaii, including a wife he married last year and his own dental business.
On Sept. 8, Simoneau waived extradition in Circuit Court. During the brief extradition hearing, Simoneau said he looked forward to showing that the charge is erroneous.
A task force of California law enforcement officials picked Simoneau up from the Kalihi prison Thursday morning, said Toni Schwartz, Department of Public Safety spokeswoman.
His Honolulu defense attorney, Lesley Maloian, said San Diego authorities might have new evidence or a witness.
Ogawa’s skeletal remains were found in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park by a couple traveling along a desert road to the Bow Willow Campground on Jan. 20, 2007, but was not identified until a DNA match in 2011.
