Prosecutors are reviewing a manslaughter charge against a 24-year-old man accused of causing another man’s death in Mililani Mauka last month, but the suspect’s attorney says prosecutors told him they plan to drop the charge.
Kai Winchester, of Mili- lani, was charged with manslaughter on Oct. 11 for the death of 59-year-old Martin Luippold, who was found unconscious in the parking lot of a shopping center on Meheula Parkway about 10:30 p.m. Oct. 4. Luippold was taken to a hospital and died several hours later.
The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office said Luippold died of “blunt impact” to the head and ruled his death a homicide.
Several days after Luippold’s death, police asked for the public’s help in finding suspects and arrested Winchester. He was released two days later after posting $100,000 bail.
Winchester’s attorney, Victor Bakke, said the prosecutor called him Thursday and said the state will ask a judge to dismiss the manslaughter charge Monday. Prosecutors will make the request during a preliminary hearing scheduled to determine probable cause in Winchester’s case.
A prosecutor’s office spokesman said the case against Winchester is being reviewed and no decision on whether to dismiss charges has been made.
Bakke said the death was an accident and that he will ask the judge to dismiss the case with prejudice so the state cannot bring future charges. He said his client, a single father who works in construction, shouldn’t have to live under the shroud of possible litigation for years. According to state law, the state has 10 years to bring charges in manslaughter cases.
Terry Titcomb, Luippold’s older sister, said she heard from a police officer that prosecutors are dismissing charges after failing twice last week to get two separate grand juries to indict Winchester on a manslaughter charge. She said she was sad no one would be held accountable for her brother’s death and her 89-year-old mother is struggling with the loss of her son, who was her caretaker and companion.
Titcomb said her brother, who lived with his mother at Olaloa Retirement Community in Mililani, was a kind person who would help others in the neighborhood by carrying items or assisting in their gardens.
“He was always trying to help older people,” she said. “He had this streak of wanting to help people.”
She said authorities told her that Winchester delivered three elbow strikes to her brother’s head — two after he was knocked out — left him on the ground unconscious, and bragged about the incident afterward.
“He didn’t even get an anger management class,” she said. “He got nothing. He’s a free bird.”
She said her brother, who was frail from hepatitis C, may have been looking for marijuana because it helped him with his appetite.
“My brother had problems, but he didn’t deserve to die for them,” said Titcomb, a Kailua resident. “There’s no closure for my family.”
A source familiar with the investigation said the incident began when Luippold approached Winchester and his friends at the shopping center and asked for marijuana. The group told Luippold to leave because they didn’t have any pot, and Luippold became irate, accusing them of not wanting to sell him drugs because he was “haole.” Luippold then kicked Winchester, who struck him three times, the source said.
Bakke said Luippold and his client fell backward after Luippold grabbed his client in a chokehold from behind. He claims the fatal blow was from the fall, not Winchester’s strikes. He said the group ran away and didn’t know what happened to Luippold.
His client feels bad about what happened, he added.
In a similar affray in 2011, prosecutors did not press charges against a 28-year-old man involved in a fatal fight with Nelden Torres because the suspect was apparently defending himself. Prosecutors said Torres sought out the man at Heeia Kea Pier on Memorial Day and threw the first punch. Torres fell during the fight and hit his head on the asphalt.