WAILUKU — A Maui man accused of slitting his estranged wife’s throat in a supermarket pleaded no contest to murder Wednesday.
WAILUKU — A Maui man accused of slitting his estranged wife’s throat in a supermarket pleaded no contest to murder Wednesday.
Stephen Schmidt pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of second-degree murder and other charges, the Maui News reported .
Schmidt cut the throat of 24-year-old Kehau Farias Schmidt while she was shopping at a Foodland in 2016, authorities said. The two of them were separated at the time, police said.
Police said Schmidt started an argument with a man who was with Farias Schmidt. After a brief struggle with the man, Schmidt stabbed the woman with a knife.
Schmidt also changed his pleas for other charges involving two men who were stabbed while trying to stop the attack. He pleaded no contest to attempted second-degree murder of James Reeves II and to a reduced charge of first-degree assault of Scott Spencer “Kip” Stolsig.
Wailuku resident Alan Sevilla told the newspaper at the time the three victims were lying in a pool of blood between the cash registers.
As part of a plea deal, prosecutors will recommend Schmidt be sentenced to concurrent terms of life in prison with the possibility of parole. The Hawaii Paroling Authority would determine how much time Schmidt serves before being eligible for parole.
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 20.
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Information from: The Maui News, http://www.mauinews.com
