Lawyer weighs insanity defense
The lawyer for the man accused of killing three people and kidnapping and robbing three others on Tantalus will rely on his client's history of paranoid schizophrenia.
Criminal defense attorney Brook Hart said yesterday the medical history of Adam Koon Wai Mau-Goffredo, 23, would "play a role" in defending his client from 18 counts of murder, robbery, kidnapping and other crimes.
"My concern is with the accusations, the charges and whether there's a legal defense," said Hart, who would accompany Mau-Goffredo during his arraignment at 8:30 a.m. today in District Court. "In this case, Adam Mau has a considerable history of paranoid schizophrenia."
According to court documents, Mau-Goffredo's mother, Lynnette Li Liang Mau, and caregiver William Roy Carroll Jr. petitioned in March to be appointed co-guardians of Mau-Goffredo, who was described as an "incapacitated person." The documents say Mau-Goffredo was diagnosed as having "schizophrenia, paranoid type, with residual symptoms."
Prosecutors believe Mau-Goffredo shot and killed 50-year-old cabdriver Manh Nguyen on Thursday night before killing Jason and Colleen Takamori, both 53, a Kapahulu couple who police said were at the wrong place at the wrong time.
After the shootings, police said Mau-Goffredo got into Nguyen's cab and drove to the Round Top Drive home of Joe and Francine Gedan, where he allegedly forced his way into their home and tied up the couple and a housekeeper at gunpoint before fleeing. Police said they found a .45-caliber pistol magazine in Mau-Goffredo's pants pocket when they arrested him at a checkpoint.
Meanwhile, news coverage about the deaths has not prevented tour companies from bringing visitors to the lookout, Tantalus resident Marilyn Waterhouse said. Of the shooting, she said it was an isolated, freak accident.
"We have very good police patrol here," Waterhouse said.
At one of the lower lookout spots on Tantalus, New York visitors Mark Brody and wife Bonnie enjoyed scenic views of Punchbowl with their two sons, Nate, 13 and Jake, 8. Though he has read about the shooting, Brody said it did not dissuade him from heading up to Tantalus, which he learned about from a tour guide brochure.
"If they hadn't arrested the person who did it, we would've been more concerned," Brody said.
Board members of the Tantalus Community Association are expected to meet tonight to discuss the need for more police patrols and a call box, among other options, member John Steelquist said.
"This has been a major disturbance to our neighborhood," he said. "Many of the residents are shaken up."
Steelquist said the closure of Round Top Drive since March has changed the dynamics of the community.
"On one hand it was a good thing because it was very effective in catching the guy. However, on the other hand, it turned the lookout into an isolated area," Steelquist said.
