Arruda pleads guilty in child’s death

LIHU‘E — Lihu‘e resident David Nicholas Arruda, 25, told a packed Fifth Circuit courtroom yesterday that he made a mistake, and that he was guilty of manslaughter in the death of 35-month-old Kaimana Dias-Duque.

Arruda, scheduled to be arraigned in Circuit Court for a second-degree murder charge, instead accepted a plea offer from prosecutors.

“I know I did a mistake,” Arruda said, “not calling for medical attention.”

He then agreed that, instead of calling for medical attention last October 30 when his girlfriend’s son, Dias-Duque, banged his head three times and went unconscious, Arruda put him in bed and pretended he was asleep.

Later that night, Arruda discovered that Dias-Duque was having difficulty breathing. He then called for medical attention, but Dias-Duque died November 1.

According to Fifth Circuit Court Judge George M. Masuoka, Arruda will be given 20 years imprisonment when he is sentenced on May 3.

When Masuoka announced that Arruda would not be eligible for parole, a couple of Arruda’s family members sitting in the court broke down and sobbed. One woman didn’t stop crying until they were outside the Lihu‘e court-house a half-hour later.

At least 15 members of Dias-Duque’s family and Arruda’s family were in court to see the proceedings.

Mark Zenger, Arruda’s attorney, said that his client is extremely remorseful about the incident, especially since Arruda just became a father to Dias-Duque’s half-brother. Dias-Duque’s mother, Jessica Dias, gave birth to Arruda’s child within the past two weeks, he said.

“He is very sorry for what happened,” Zenger said outside court. “Spending time with him, he’s not a verbal guy, but I can tell you he’s got a lot of remorse.

“I don’t think he’ll ever completely get over it,” he added.

Zenger said the manslaughter charge was the best result Arruda could have hoped for, considering the facts of the case.

“This would be the best result I would have hoped to gain in front of a jury,” Zenger said of the manslaughter conviction.

Zenger added that he believed that -the law provided the judge the ability to sentence Arruda to probation if he wanted to. According to a statute read by First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Richard Minatoya, because of the age of the victim, Masuoka would be bound to give Arruda the maximum, 20-year sentence.

“We don’t necessarily agree, but we’ll bring that up prior to sentencing,” Zenger said.

Asked why Arruda changed The National Auction his story three times in three separate interviews with police, Zenger said his client was scared.

It was “for the same reason he didn’t call the police, the reason why he didn’t tell his girlfriend,” Zenger said. “He doesn’t respond to stress real well, and he was trying to portray himself in the most favorable light.”

But, Zenger said, he always felt remorse for his actions.

“He didn’t want to tell the truth because he knew what he did was really bad,” the lawyer said.

Court records obtained by The Garden Island in January and signed by Kaua‘i Police Department Detective Marvin Rivera in November, contained details of three separate interviews with Arruda.

According to the affidavit in support of Arruda’s initial arrest, Arruda, in the first two interviews, said the boy was laughing after banging his head during some horseplay in Arruda’s home. The boy later went to sleep, and Arruda found him having difficulty breathing. Arruda was watching the boy while his girlfriend, the boy’s mother, was at work, the documents say.

But in a third interview, the court documents continue, Arruda said he was throwing the boy in the air and catching him. But he missed, and the boy fell to the floor, hitting his head. Arruda then grabbed the boy by the knees and was swinging him around, and he hit his head again.

The impact caused the boy to go unconscious, and Arruda panicked and pretended the boy was asleep when his mother came home, according to the court documents.

Tom Finnegan, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or tfinnegan@pulitzer.net.