Alleged serial kupuna killer makes first court appearance in Hilo

HILO (HawaiiNewsNow) – A man accused of killing three elderly men in Puna made his first court appearance Monday afternoon from the cellblock in Hilo District Court.

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Jacob Daniel Baker, 36, of Pahoa, hardly moved during the proceeding.

He is accused in the deaths of Robert Shine, 69, Chitta Morse, 79, and John Carse, 69, following an island-wide manhunt.

The judge ordered Baker to undergo a mental fitness exam by a three-member panel of experts after deputy public defender Arthur Indiola said Baker was nonresponsive.

“I’ve had quite extensive communication with Mr. Baker. His responses to me were nonresponsive. Scant. I believe that I do have basis to move for 704 on the basis of fitness,” Indiola said.

The judge ordered Baker held without bail because the victims were over 60 and the alleged murders were particularly brutal and heinous and involved strangulation and knives.

“The court is going to find that there is a serious risk, that the person poses a danger to the people of this community,” District Court Judge Jeffrey Hawk said.

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Police said Shine died from strangulation, Carse had trauma from a sharp object, and police had not released a cause of death about Morse.

Court documents said the deputy prosecutor tried talking to him at cellblock about the charges and he wanted a Jewish attorney.

Baker is charged with three counts of second-degree murder and murder in the first degree for allegedly intentionally or knowingly killing two or more people, along with other charges.

Prosecutors say Baker is also subject to extended prison terms because the defendant is an offender against the elderly.

The sentence for first-degree murder is life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Baker’s next appearance in Hilo court will be at 10 a.m. on Aug. 11.