HONOLULU — the Three men killed on the Big Island of Hawaii It was “particularly heinous, egregious or cruel,” prosecutors said in court documents, which are also seeking a harsher sentence because the victims were over 60.
Jacob Baker, 36, charged with murder in the deaths of two 69-year-old men and a 79-year-old man, appeared in court Monday where a judge granted a defense request for Baker to undergo a mental fitness examination.
According to a criminal complaint, the killings were due to “exceptional debauchery.”
Robert Shayne, 69, was found dead last week submerged in a cement pond, according to police. The body of a 79-year-old man was discovered a day later a few hundred feet away.
Later that day, police found 69-year-old John Karse dead on a property 19 miles (31 kilometers) from where the other two bodies were located.
Police have not released the 79-year-old man’s name, but prosecutors identified him in the criminal complaint as Frederick Morse. His friends said they knew him as “Cheeta.”
If convicted, and if the jury agrees that Baker knew the victims were older men, or that the killings were particularly heinous, he would face a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Without the enhancement, parole would be possible.
police Baker arrested Last week, after a vast island manhunt, the three victims were found in the remote, mostly rural community of Puna known for its jungle-like landscape and lively residents.
The killings have left residents on edge in a community amid lush forests and barren lava fields where people seeking to live off the grid often trade work for housing.
Disturbing details of the investigation were detailed in a probable cause document, including Morse being found dead in his bed with several severed fingers. Shane was found with broken ribs and other injuries, and was strangled before being placed in a concrete fishpond, where he was found face down in the water. Kars was found face down under corrugated roofing material, and an autopsy showed cuts to his face, severed neck muscles, a broken jaw and other injuries, the document said.
A woman told police she drove Baker to a store in Hilo, the largest city in eastern Hawaii, before finding the men, and as she returned, Baker showed her a newly purchased knife and said he would “beat up all the rapists in Pahoa and anyone who messes with him,” according to the document. Baker reportedly spoke about the island being full of rapists and child molesters, and stated that he wanted to “chop them up with machetes.”
Police said they described him as eccentric, aggressive and verbally exaggerated, and that he referred to himself using the Spanish word for “hitman.” Police said they determined he also purchased brass knuckles.
She then took him to a tattoo shop, where police said Baker got a tattoo under his left eye.
Baker was ordered held without bail. His mental fitness examination report is due on August 4. The court hearing is scheduled for August 11.