Big Isle man charged in attack
Marwan Jackson faces murder charges in the assault of his pregnant girlfriend
HILO » Police have charged a Big Island man with murder and other crimes in connection with an alleged assault Friday that left his pregnant girlfriend brain-dead.
Marwan Timothy Saad Jackson, 24, of Mountain View, is accused of assaulting Sarah M. Fay in a rural Big Island home. Television news reports have said that Fay, 34, of Fern Acres subdivision south of Hilo, was brain-dead, but her body was being sustained to preserve the life of the fetus. She is reportedly seven months pregnant.
Monica Ivey, spokeswoman for the Queen's Medical Center where Fay is receiving care, said the hospital would hold a press conference today to discuss the status of Fay and the unborn baby.
Police said "the victim has been declared dead as a matter of law."
Police Lt. Randall Medeiros said the determination that Fay is dead was made by the Hawaii County prosecutor's office based on medical statements from doctors at Queen's.
Arraignment for Jackson, 24, of Mountain View, was set for 1:30 p.m. today in Hilo District Court.
Jackson was charged with two forms of second-degree murder, police said. One form is murder caused by acts allegedly committed by Jackson. The other form is murder that allegedly occurred because Jackson failed to take action that might have saved her life.
Jackson was charged that way to give a jury an option in determining how the death occurred, police said.
Besides murder, Jackson was also charged with kidnapping, first-degree sexual assault, second-degree robbery and violation of a protective order, they said.
Police described Fay as Jackson's "female companion."
Fay was renting the small one-story, four-room house in Fern Acres, an officer at the scene said.
She had obtained a temporary restraining order against Jackson in May, and the charge of violating a protective order indicates another order was in effect.
Court records show Jackson was found guilty of seven crimes in 2004, including three felonies connected with an incident in which he dragged a police officer 30 feet with his car.
Deputy prosecutor Charlene Iboshi said Jackson served a year in jail for those offenses.
In July his probation was revoked in three cases, and he was resentenced but Judge Glenn Hara allowed him to remain free on supervised release.