STAR-BULLETIN / 2006 Court-appointed mental experts now believe Adam Mau-Goffredo is unfit to stand trial in the killings of three people on Tantalus.

Murder suspect now is called unfit for trial

Adam Mau-Goffredo was initially judged mentally competent

All three mental health experts on a court-appointed panel have reversed their initial assessment that a man accused of murdering three people on Tantalus was mentally fit for trial.

The experts now say Adam Mau-Goffredo is unfit to stand trial, based on defense experts' additional testimony and reports, which the prosecution calls unfair.

Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario issued an amended order yesterday that allows one of the court-appointed doctors to re-examine Mau-Goffredo and also allows for the other two panelists to do so if they choose.

The panelists must prepare supplemental reports on Mau-Goffredo's fitness to stand trial, which is due in about a month. After the reports are in, a status conference will be scheduled, at which time future hearings on the issue will be set.

On July 6, 2006, Mau-Goffredo allegedly shot and killed a taxicab driver who drove him to Tantalus, then allegedly killed a Kapahulu couple taking photos at a Tantalus lookout.

The defense contends he is mentally incompetent and is refusing to cooperate with counsel.

The prosecution opposes allowing the court-appointed mental health experts to reconsider their initial finding without input from the prosecution's experts, said city Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter.

"It seems to us fundamentally unfair to allow the court-appointed experts to consider evidence generated by the defense experts without giving us the opportunity to provide meaningful input regarding that very important decision," he said.

Van Marter said prosecutors asked the court a month ago to allow the state's experts access to Mau-Goffredo to interview and examine him but have been denied.

The defense experts, he said, have had a year to examine the defendant.

Defense lawyer Brook Hart said he believes the court will not prevent the prosecution's experts from providing input to the panel in the future, but the judge wants to have the court-appointed experts' assessments before addressing that issue.

"We don't oppose that the government's experts have a chance to evaluate Adam," Hart said. "We're just talking about the timing and the nature of the examinations, whether he's supervised or observed by a defense representative."

Mau-Goffredo has told defense psychologists he can summon the pope to secure his release from prison, and that he was cured of schizophrenia after being given Haldol following his attack of a prison guard last year.