No-contest LIHUE >> In a surprise move, Matthew Blankswade, 22, pleaded no contest yesterday to second-degree murder in the shotgun slaying of his girlfriend's father.
plea for shotgun
murderer
Kauai man claims girlfriend
orchestrated killing
of her fatherBy Anthony Sommer
Star-BulletinBlankswade previously confessed to the crime, telling police detectives his girlfriend Amber Brisebois planned the murder and watched him carry it out. Amber Brisebois did not confess and has not been charged with any crimes.
Blankswade was scheduled to go on trial Monday but on Friday asked for a continuance so he could meet with his parents who were flying to Kauai from California to hire a private attorney for him.
At yesterday's hearing at which Circuit Judge Clifford Nakea was expected to set a new trial date, Blankswade said he had decided to accept the county prosecutor's plea offer.
"The parents talked it over with Ed and it was apparent there really no other choice but accepting the plea bargain," said deputy public defender Jim Itamura, who was defending Blankswade with deputy public defender Ed Acoba.
Prosecutor Michael Soong agreed to drop the wording requiring a 15-year minimum sentence on the life sentence before Blankswade would be eligible for parole. Soong also agreed to not prosecute Matthew Blankswade's brother Ben as an accomplice.
Blankswade is scheduled to be sentenced July 12 by Nakea.
Blankswade was accused of shooting Jeffrey Brisebois, 48, in the face with a 12-gauge shotgun as Brisebois slept in his remote Wainiha home early on the morning of June 26.
Blankswade later confessed to police detectives, telling them Brisebois' daughter, Amber, 18, planned the murder and stood in a doorway watching as he shot her father.
Blankswade said Amber Brisebois wanted her father dead so she and her friends could live in the house he was occupying.
Kauai County
