LIHUE — Just over a year after being indicted by a grand jury in the stabbing death of his girlfriend, a Kapaa man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Tuesday in 5th Circuit Court. The plea bargain will mean that
LIHUE — Just over a year after being indicted by a grand jury in the stabbing death of his girlfriend, a Kapaa man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Tuesday in 5th Circuit Court.
The plea bargain will mean that former Alaska resident Steven M. Wilson, 27, will be sentenced to life in prison for the class A felony charge. The amended count has a maximum possible penalty of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole and a $50,000 fine.
The victim, Kendra “Kenny” Elizabeth Lewis, 21, was found stabbed to death in the bedroom of her residence at Kawaihau Sports Villa condominium in Kapaa on April 26, 2013. She was also from Alaska but had lived on Kauai occasionally since childhood with family on island.
“The two were in an intimate relationship and were living together at the time he killed her,” said County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Melinda Mendes.
The deputy prosecutor described the murder as several stabbings that occurred sometime between April 11, 2013. When her body was discovered by police on April 26, Lewis had been stabbed twice in the abdomen, along with her chest, cheek, neck, legs and left arm, Mendes said.
The state had intended to pursue enhanced sentencing for a murder described as “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity, as a conscienceless or pitiless crime is unnecessarily tortuous to a victim.” Under the deal there will be no extended sentencing or a mandatory minimum. The Hawaii Parole Authority will have discretion on when Wilson is parole eligible.
Mendes said the state would request a 40-year minimum sentence to the Parole Board. The defendant would also be allowed to ask for less time, as a condition of the plea deal.
Court appointed defense attorney Craig De Costa represented Wilson.
Judge Kathleen Watanabe said the court agreed to the terms of the plea deal and would not sentence outside the parameters of the plea deal at sentencing.
“The court has agreed to follow the plea agreement,” Watanabe said to Wilson.
Mendes said the state would also ask for restitution, if any is determined by the probation department. As Wilson prepared to sign the plea agreement, Mendes asked the court to require that the defendant make a statement to admit responsibility in the matter, as a condition of a guilty plea.
“Yes, I knowingly caused the death of Kendra Lewis,” Wilson said.
Wilson is currently being held on $1 million bail at Kauai Community Correctional Center. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 10.
