{"id":857,"date":"2026-06-02T09:05:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T09:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=857"},"modified":"2026-06-02T09:05:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T09:05:21","slug":"alleged-serial-kupuna-killer-makes-first-court-appearance-in-hilo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=857","title":{"rendered":"Alleged serial kupuna killer makes first court appearance in Hilo"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<section>\n<p>HILO (HawaiiNewsNow) &#8211; A man accused of killing three elderly men in Puna made his first court appearance Monday afternoon from the cellblock in Hilo District Court.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=855\">Instacart partnership lets shoppers donate groceries to Hawaii Foodbank<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Jacob Daniel Baker, 36, of Pahoa, hardly moved during the proceeding.<\/p>\n<p>He is accused in the deaths of Robert Shine, 69, Chitta Morse, 79, and John Carse, 69, following an island-wide manhunt. <\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve 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,\u201d Indiola said.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe court is going to find that there is a serious risk, that the person poses a danger to the people of this community,\u201d District Court Judge Jeffrey Hawk said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=853\">\u2018Torture\u2019: Honolulu police look for mob that attacked lifeguard, 15-year-old<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Police said Shine died from strangulation, Carse had trauma from a sharp object, and police had not released a cause of death about Morse.<\/p>\n<p>Court documents said the deputy prosecutor tried talking to him at cellblock about the charges and he wanted a Jewish attorney.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors say Baker is also subject to extended prison terms because the defendant is an offender against the elderly. <\/p>\n<p>The sentence for first-degree murder is life in prison without the possibility of parole.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=851\">After 27 years at Kapalua, The Sentry heads to Torrey Pines in 2027<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Baker\u2019s next appearance in Hilo court will be at 10 a.m. on Aug. 11.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A man accused of killing three elderly men in Puna made his first court appearance Monday afternoon from the cellblock in Hilo District Court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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