An emotional Christopher Aki wiped his face yesterday as Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall sentenced him to 20 years in prison for killing Kahealani Indreginal, 11. His lawyer, Todd Eddins, was with him.
Aki receives 20-year
term in girl’s deathHe apologizes to Kahealani
Indreginal’s family in court
but still says he is innocent
Convicted of recklessly causing the death of 11-year-old Kahealani Indreginal 1 1/2 years ago, Christopher Aki apologized to everyone affected by the killing but continues to maintain his innocence.
"There's no way I have ever lent a hand, put a hand against their sister, their daughter, their granddaughter, their niece, their cousin," Aki, of Kalihi, said to nearly two dozen Indreginal family members who packed the courtroom yesterday.
"I love this family very much. I'm just so sorry for the loss and suffering you guys had to go through. I just wish and hope and pray in time you'll find it in your hearts to forgive me for my involvement," he said, his voice faltering as his emotions took over.
Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall sentenced Aki yesterday to the maximum 20 years in prison, rejecting his request to be sentenced to eight years as a youthful offender.
A jury convicted Aki of the lesser offense of manslaughter in April. He had been charged with second-degree murder, punishable with life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Crandall called the case a tragedy for both the Aki and Indreginal families, who in effect have "lost" their children. The case also showed the "havoc and destruction crystal methamphetamine is causing in our community."
Yesterday was the first time Aki had a chance to apologize to Indreginal's family for his involvement since her body was discovered Dec. 13, 2002, at Keaiwa Heiau State Park.
Indreginal's disappearance three days earlier from the Halawa housing complex where she lived shocked the community and sparked an intense search by police and family members.
She was the younger half sister of Aki's longtime former girlfriend, Tanya Mamala-Tumbaga, now Tanya Guidry.
Prosecutors had maintained that Aki killed the girl in a methamphetamine-induced rage after he accidentally spit food on her, she slapped him and he "snapped."
After initially denying being with her the day she disappeared or harming her, Aki later confessed to beating the Aiea Elementary sixth-grader multiple times with a pipe and abandoning her at the park.
Lehua Tumbaga, Indreginal's mother, and Tanya Guidry, her half sister, listened as Prosecutor Peter Carlisle addressed the court.
At trial, however, Aki testified he falsely confessed to police out of fear because the real killer, whom he identified as Indreginal's uncle Dennis Cacatian, had held a gun to his head and threatened to harm him and his family if he told anyone what happened.
Aki said he had arranged to meet with Cacatian at the park to discuss allegations by Indreginal that her uncle had been touching her inappropriately. Cacatian became enraged when Aki confronted him and ordered the girl to accompany him down a trail. Aki said he later saw Cacatian standing over the girl with a knife as she lay bleeding on the ground. He also said he saw Cacatian dropping a large rock on her head and face at least six times.
Cacatian has denied any involvement in his niece's death and invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify when called by the defense.
Former deputy public defender Todd Eddins, who is now in private practice and was recently retained by Aki's family, said they are disappointed the judge decided against sentencing Aki as a youthful offender.
The court had earlier granted the defense's request to sentence Aki before he turns 22, the cutoff to be eligible as a youthful offender. Aki turns 22 today.
The verdict suggests jurors did not believe Aki killed Indreginal despite his so-called confession and found him guilty of manslaughter by omission -- that he was there but failed to seek help for the injured girl, Eddins said.
Because Aki is less culpable than someone who has killed another, sentencing him to eight years would be adequate for his rehabilitation and would not jeopardize the public's safety, Eddins said.
Crandall considered numerous factors in reaching her decision, including the absence of a criminal record, Aki's work history and strong family support.
Although Aki has shown remorse and taken responsibility for his actions, Crandall said probation or a sentence as a youthful offender would be inappropriate.
City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle said having Aki spend two decades of his young life is "just punishment" for what he did. Despite Aki's statements, Aki still has not accepted responsibility, he said.
"Until he admits he killed her by her own hand, then in my opinion, he will not have accepted responsibility for this case," Carlisle said.
It will be up to the Hawaii Paroling Authority to decide how long Aki must actually serve before he can seek parole. Carlisle expects to ask the parole board for "20 out of 20" years because of the nature of the crime and how she was killed.
"I can't think of a worse death for somebody that young," he said. "I think if you put yourself in what happened to that little kid -- it must have been a frightening and horrible few minutes or hours before she died."
Eddins said Aki intends to appeal several issues, including their inability to introduce statements by Cacatian's brother, Eldefonso Cacatian, that his brother admitted to killing Indreginal. Eldefonso Cacatian was found unconscious of an apparent drug overdose just days before he was to testify and died, Eddins said.
Carlisle dismissed the defense's claims that others were responsible as speculation. Aki still faces an unrelated firearm charge in an August 2001 incident.
Prosecutor Peter Carlisle, left, rose yesterday to object to Patricia Aki's prolonged speech to Lehua Tumbaga, mother of Kahealani Indreginal, and her family. Aki is the mother of Christopher Aki, who was sentenced to 20 years for killing Indreginal, 11. His attorney Todd Eddins was at right.
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Indreginal’s family sees
justice in sentence
Family members of Kahealani Indreginal said they were satisfied with the sentence given to Christopher Aki, who was convicted of manslaughter in the 11-year-old girl's death.
But her mother, Lehua Tumbaga, rejected Aki's tearful courtroom apology for his involvement in the brutal December 2002 slaying.
"Why only after two years?" Tumbaga asked, saying that he had all that time in prison to plan what to say.
She also noted Aki's silence for the three days between when the girl disappeared from her Halawa home and when her body was found.
"He could have told me where my daughter was," she said yesterday.
Tumbaga and other family members spoke to the Star-Bulletin after leaving yesterday's sentencing in which Aki received a 20-year prison term.
Indreginal's half sister, Tanya Guidry, nodded when asked if she was pleased with the sentence.
"I guess you can say we can all relax," said Guidry, who is also Aki's former girlfriend and mother of his two children.
Asked if she thought anyone else was involved in her sister's murder as Aki has claimed, Guidry said, "I don't know."
She will continue to take her two young children to visit their father in prison. "I have to go take the kids because of a court order," she said.
In court, Guidry covered her face and dabbed her eyes as Aki apologized to her family and as his mother, Patricia Aki, addressed the Indreginal family directly.
Tumbaga said the 20-year sentence for the man she believes is solely responsible for her daughter's death is fair and that she was happy with it.
However, she said she was upset by Aki's mother's comments directed to Tumbaga and her family in the courtroom. While clutching a Bible, Patricia Aki expressed sympathy to Indreginal's family but also proclaimed her son's innocence.
"It's between her and the Lord; it's not between her and us," Tumbaga said. "We never commit no sin. They did. They talking about God? Hypocrite."
The animosity between the two families came to a head in March when Patricia Aki asked for a temporary restraining order against the Indreginal family, saying she feared for her life.
Patricia Aki alleged Tumbaga screamed at her after learning the defense would implicate Tumbaga's brother, Dennis Cacatian, in the murder.
Tumbaga said after Aki's sentencing: "There's no other person involved. It's just him.
"Betrayal. Lies. Perjury. And they still want to see my grandkids."
Indreginal's maternal grandmother, Segondina Indreginal, said it has been hard for the family, and she hopes her granddaughter's seven siblings can resume normal lives.
"I'm just happy this is all over," she said. "Kahea should be resting in peace now."
"Kahealani was a special girl," said Indreginal, adding that the girl was a conscientious student who always did her homework.
And Indreginal remembers what Kahealani's 6-year-old sister, Queenie, who bears a strong resemblance to her sister, once told her: "We didn't lose Kahea, Grandma. She's in my heart."
