A man on trial for murder in the bludgeoning death of a fellow homeless man at a Manoa church was found guilty Wednesday of the lesser offense of manslaughter.

A state jury returned the verdict against David Orpin, 60, who had walked into police headquarters in October 2010 with blood on his clothes and told officers he killed a man who had been harassing him.

Orpin is facing a 20-year prison term with the possibility of parole. Had he been convicted of murder, his sentence would have been life with the chance for parole.

In choosing the manslaughter verdict, the jury found that Orpin recklessly killed Arthur Martinez in October 2010.

Orpin surrendered to police on Oct. 27, 2010, and told them they could find Martinez’s body in the parking lot of Saint Pius X Church in Manoa. Orpin and Martinez, 62, were among a group of homeless people living on church grounds.

"This case illustrates how elder abuse can happen anywhere on the island, including among our senior homeless population," Scott Spallina, head of the city prosecutor’s elder abuse unit, said outside the courtroom after the verdict was announced.

Circuit Judge Glenn Kim will sentence Orpin in October.

The Hawaii Paroling Authority will decide how long Orpin will have to spend behind bars before he is eligible for parole.

Because Martinez was at least 60 years old, Orpin could have faced a minimum term of six years and eight months before being eligible for parole under sentencing guidelines for elderly and other vulnerable victims. But the jurors determined that Orpin had no way of knowing Martinez’s age.

Defense lawyer David Bettencourt had suggested to the jury that Orpin may have killed Martinez in self-defense. Orpin did not testify and the defense did not present witnesses.

Martinez had fractures on the front and back of his skull. Spallina said the tip of the victim’s right ring finger had been severed by a blow, and that the middle finger on that hand had been nearly severed, in what Spallina described as defensive injuries.

Police did not recover the object used to club Martinez.