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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Bryan Suitt, left, with attorney Lee Hayakawa, appeared before Circuit Court Judge Richard Perkins on Monday in Honolulu. Suitt is accused of murdering and dismembering Alex Gonzales.
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A state judge ordered a mental fitness examination Monday for a murder defendant accused of dismembering the victim.
Bryan Suitt, 46, is awaiting a murder trial in connection with the death of 34-year-old Alex Gonzales.
Trial had been scheduled for August. Circuit Judge Richard Perkins’ order for appointment of a panel of mental health experts to examine Suitt puts the trial schedule on hold.
Suitt’s lawyer Lee Hayakawa told Perkins that Suitt is only asking for a determination of his fitness to stand trial, and not for whether or not he was responsible for his actions at the time of Gonzales’ murder.
"We have no intention of running a mental defense in this case," Hayakawa said.
An indictment against Suitt charges him with killing Gonzales between Aug. 17 and mid-September 2013.
Information Honolulu police discovered during their investigation suggests that Gonzales died in early September.
Police recovered the victim’s remains scattered off both sides of Mililani Memorial Park Road on Sept. 15 and Sept. 16, 2013.
The Honolulu Medical Examiner performed an autopsy on the remains and said Gonzales died from multiple sharp force injuries to various parts of his body.
A former roommate told police he last saw Gonzales between Sept. 2 and Sept. 5 outside Suitt’s rented Waikiki apartment.
