Family relieved girl’s killer
will not get hospital release

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By Debra Barayuga
dbarayuga@starbulletin.com

The family of a 16-year-old girl Hawaii Kai girl murdered 25 years ago is relieved that the man acquitted in the case will not be released from the Hawaii State Hospital anytime soon.

Abraham Paul Jordan's request for conditional release or unescorted passes from the hospital where he has spent nearly half his life was denied in a decision issued Wednesday by Circuit Judge Reynaldo Graulty.

"I'm glad they kept him in so women and other girls are safe -- that is a good thing," said Jim Seibel, who was 19 when his sister, Barbara Seibel, was killed in May 1975. "I'm glad it's over -- this was a real long haul, and this one was particularly hard on me."

Peter Ross, Jordan's attorney, said he had not seen Graulty's ruling and withheld comment until he saw it.

This is the second time the courts have denied such a request since Jordan, 55, was committed to the State Hospital in March 1976.

Jordan, formerly Paul Abraham Luiz, had been acquitted by reason of insanity in Barbara Seibel's death.

Prior to that, he had been acquitted by reason of mental illness on charges of raping and sodomizing five women at knifepoint over a 10-month period.

In his ruling, Graulty relied on the reports of three court-appointed examiners who diagnosed Jordan as a sexual sadist, the same diagnosis given him after his arrest for Barbara Seibel's murder.

The examiners opposed conditional release unless specific restrictions and follow-up services were in place to ensure the safety of the community.

Graulty also found credible the testimony of psychologist Dr. Harold Hall, a state witness, who concluded that Jordan posed a "moderate-high dangerousness to others."

Graulty noted that Jordan has failed to prove he is no longer dangerous or mentally ill and that the defense failed to address any of the conditions sought by the examiners.

Deputy Prosecutor Jeff Albert said Jordan is dangerous because he presents himself as a very pleasant person.

"He's smart. He's a hell of a liar and comes across like anybody's uncle," Albert said.

Although Jordan had pleaded guilty to some of the charges connected to the rapes, he later was acquitted by reason of mental illness and committed to the hospital.

At the time of Seibel's murder, Jordan had been granted conditional release by the courts, which found that although he remained a danger to himself and others, he could be controlled, monitored and treated. He was ordered to undergo psychiatric outpatient treatment.

Barbara Seibel was waiting at a bus stop in Hawaii Kai on May 28, 1975, when she was picked up by Jordan, Albert said.

Jordan drove her to an empty garage and tried to subdue her with a knife, but Seibel fought back, stabbing him with the knife and kicking out the car's windshield.

Jordan stabbed her repeatedly, then dumped her body in the driveway of a Hawaii Kai home, prosecutors said.

Jordan was implicated after investigators matched the glass in his car to pieces found by Seibel's body.

He told at least one therapist that he killed Seibel because she damaged his windshield, prosecutors said.