Mental illness treatment
precedes murder trial

A court will decide on Sept. 4 if a
Big Isle man is fit to stand trial

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Associated Press

HILO >> A Big Island man accused of killing a national park ranger is being treated for mental illness at a federal medical center in Rochester, Minn.

After the 120-day treatment program, Eugene Frederick Boyce III is scheduled for a Sept. 4 hearing to determine if he is ready to stand trial.

Boyce, 32, is charged with first-degree murder for the Dec. 12, 1999, shooting death of ranger Steven Makuakane-Jarrell at Koloko-Honokohau National Historic Park in Kona. The government has decided it will not seek the death penalty if Boyce is convicted.

In April 2000, a federal magistrate ruled that Boyce was unable to understand the charges against him and ordered him to undergo treatment at a federal medical center in Missouri. After 120 days, he was determined to be fit to stand trial and was sent back to Hawaii.

However, he relapsed at Oahu Community Correctional Center and went to a federal detention center in Los Angeles for a 30-day evaluation. Prosecutors and Boyce's attorney agreed he should be sent to the Minnesota facility for further treatment.