Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.

Suspect will stand trial
in Kauai shotgun slaying

---

By Anthony Sommer
Star-Bulletin

LIHUE -- An insanity defense for confessed killer Matthew Blankswade, 21, appears to have been ruled out by a series of mental examinations.

At a hearing yesterday, Circuit Judge George Masuoka said evaluations by two psychiatrists and a psychologist showed Blankswade is competent to stand trial and set a trial date of April 30.

Blankswade is accused of shooting Jeffrey Brisebois, 48, in the face with a 12-gauge shotgun as Brisebois slept in his Wainiha home early on the morning of June 26.

He also is charged with six firearms violations stemming from the theft of six guns from a former employer.

In addition to finding Blankswade able to understand the charges against him and assist in his defense, Masuoka said the three mental evaluations showed Blankswade "appreciated the wrongfulness of the conduct" at the time of the killings and could have altered his conduct if he chose to do so.

In his confession to police detectives, Blankswade said the killing was planned by Amber Brisebois, 18, his girlfriend and Jeffrey Brisebois' daughter. He told police Amber Brisebois watched from a doorway as he shot her father.

Amber Brisebois has not been charged with any crimes, although police said in their reports she told them a series of lies about her whereabouts on the day of the murder. For example, she told detectives she found her father's body when she returned home from work, but her employer said she did not work that day.

Police reports filed with the court quote Blankswade telling detectives that Amber Brisebois wanted her father to get off the property, which he had turned over to her and her brother during a court fight with a neighbor over property lines. The elder Brisebois occupied the main house on the property while Amber Brisebois, Blankswade and another couple lived in a guest house.

Blankswade said Amber Brisebois wanted the house so a group of her friends could move in with her. The property is located off a remote, mountainous road on Kauai's north shore.