Man pleads guilty
in wife’s death

The former Big Island
groundskeeper's plea will keep
his daughter from having to testify

A Big Island man accused of bludgeoning his wife to death three years ago has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Warlito Gorospe: He will get 20 years in prison and be deported after his term

Warlito Gorospe pleaded guilty to the lesser charge in the death of his wife, Gloria Gorospe, 27, the Hawaii County prosecutor's office announced Wednesday.

He will be sentenced to 20 years in prison and, after serving his term, will be deported to the Philippines.

Police found Gloria Mayos Gorospe's body lying in a pool of blood at a Pepeekeo estate guest house July 30, 2002. Police found her jaw smashed and face badly beaten. She died of severe injury to the brain caused by blunt force trauma.

Gorospe, then 38, and his 3-year-old daughter arrived at his sister's Hilo home, and he asked her to call police.

Gorospe, who worked as head groundskeeper, brought police to the guest house where he and his family lived on an estate owned by a couple of art dealers.

Gloria Gorospe had worked there as a housekeeper and, according to a school newspaper, was also working toward an associate's degree and human services certificate at Hawaii Community College.

The guilty plea will spare any further trauma for the Gorospes' daughter from being called to testify at trial, the prosecutor's office said Wednesday in a written statement.

According to the prosecutor's office, the girl has made progress since the killing, and her therapist had strongly objected to have her testify at trial.

The prosecutor's office said: "The guilty plea to the mitigated murder charge of manslaughter also takes into account the facts of the case, which support the manslaughter plea.

"Under state law at the time of the killing, the prosecution had the burden of disproving that the defendant suffered from 'extreme mental or emotional disturbance.'"

The law has since changed with the defense now bearing the burden of proving extreme mental or emotional disturbance.

The prosecutor's office also said the guilty plea takes into account physical evidence and statements thrown out at a Circuit Court hearing Feb. 11, 2004.

Both the prosecution and the defense had appealed rulings to the Intermediate Court of Appeals. The prosecution had appealed a ruling to suppress evidence, and the defense had appealed a Circuit Court ruling on the admission of evidence.

The appellate court will not make a decision in either of those cases.