Murderous duo
get life sentencesThe Big Islanders said they
ook turns shooting two friends
HILO >> Big Island residents John McGovern and Kyle Z.T. Hill, responsible for the 2002 murders of two other men, were sentenced to life in prison this week, Hill with the possibility of parole but McGovern without it.
Both men confessed to shooting their friends Wesley Matheson and Cassidy Toole, both 20, at a rural home south of Hilo. Passing a .22-caliber rifle back and forth between them, McGovern and Hill shot each of the victims once, then switched, and each man shot the other victim once, according to testimony.
McGovern, 20, who was tried and found guilty last year, said the killings were done because he and Hill thought the other two men were plotting to kill them.
Hill, also 20, who entered a plea agreement, said the victims were killed to obtain their drugs and related paraphernalia.
On Wednesday, Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura sentenced Hill to life with possible parole. Other charges against Hill were dropped as part of the plea agreement.
Yesterday, Judge Terence Yoshioka sentenced McGovern to life without parole, 20 years for committing a felony with a firearm and five years for stealing Toole's car. Yoshioka ordered the sentences to be served back to back.
Sniffling back tears, McGovern made a long, rambling statement to the court, repeating his version of the crime, saying it was a misunderstanding about a threat from Matheson and Toole.
Defense attorney Keith Shigetomi said McGovern came from a background of neglect and abandonment.
"I have seen him break down and cry," Shigetomi said.
Toole's mother, Kayt Fossler, told the court on videotape she dreamed every night about her son being shot.
Deputy Prosecutor Sandra Freitas said McGovern was the "mastermind" in the killings, obtaining the gun to do it.