Mother who put
son in coma to
serve 20 years

The son, now 5, is comatose
and is not expected
to recover

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

Kimberly Pada, convicted of beating and shaking her son Reubyne Buentipo Jr. in 1997 and rendering him comatose, was ordered to serve at least 20 years in prison.

It was the maximum the Hawaii Paroling Authority could give.

But the three-member parole board asked her to return in 10 years, or 2007, for an interview to assess her progress and determine whether the sentence was appropriate. Their decision was unanimous.

She was convicted of attempted manslaughter. Pada's attorney, deputy public defender Helen Wong, called the sentence an injustice.

Deputy Prosecutor Dan Oyasato says he doesn't know if the state would have been satisfied with any punishment after what Pada did to her son.

"The Paroling Authority gave the most they could give her and we feel they did the just thing," he said. "Hopefully to some degree it brings some closure to Reubyne's life."

Al Beaver, Paroling Authority chairman, said the board considered several factors in reaching its decision. Most important was the seriousness of the offense and the age of the victim.

They also took into account her addiction to drugs and the numerous other incidents of abuse reaped on her son.

Reubyne Jr. was 4 when he was brought to Castle Hospital in August 1997, suffering from burns and brain injuries doctors said were consistent with being shaken.

The boy, now 5, remains comatose at a convalescent facility and is not expected to recover, Oyasato said. Prosecutors had sought the 20-year minimum.

Wong had sought a lesser term, arguing that Pada suffers from a mental illness and is unable to make proper assessments in situations. "She has been injured by so much abuse in her life -- mentally and emotionally that she frequently reacts inappropriately to situations," Wong said.

Via video conferencing from the Central Oklahoma Correctional Facility, Pada told the board Monday that not a day goes by that she doesn't think about her son.

Board member Lani Garcia had questioned whether Pada would ever be rehabilitated because she failed to show any remorse.

Wong said Pada has always felt great sorrow for what she did to Reubyne Jr. but hides her feelings to avoid being misconstrued.

If Pada was such a monster as she has been portrayed by prosecutors and the press, she didn't make herself that way, Wong said. "Are we going to punish someone for being a bad person when she really had no control over making herself into a bad person? Or are we going to try to rehabilitate them?"

Wong said the sentence is particularly unjust because Pada never had much of a chance to grow into an ideal or good mother.

"I don't think any of us understand the enormity of the injuries she suffered and the amount of emotional damage done to this woman," Wong said.

Beaver said he did feel for Pada because of her history. "I was very torn about this case."

But what she did to her son was "cruel, heinous, evil."

"There's no excuse," he said.