Posted on: Tuesday, October 23, 2001

Maui man sentenced in shooting of surfer

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

A man who shot and killed a popular big-wave surfer on Maui five years ago must spend 45 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.

The Hawai'i Paroling Authority set the minimum sentence for Thomas Schillaci, who was found guilty in 1998 of the shooting death of William Simpson Jr. Schillaci was charged with murder, but a jury found him guilty of the lesser manslaughter charge.

Maui Circuit Judge Boyd Mossman sentenced Schillaci to 10 years in prison, but said that term would run consecutively to several firearms convictions. The parole board recently ruled that Schillaci must serve at least 45 years of his 65-year sentence.

Other minimum sentences handed down by the Paroling Authority:

• Sabrina Fiaai, two years of a 20-year sentence for manslaughter. Fiaai pleaded guilty to man-slaughter and admitted stabbing her husband, Abe, in the neck with a steak knife as he slept Feb. 7, 2000. Sabrina Fiaai said she killed her husband after years of abuse.

• Harry Kauhi, seven years of a 10-year term for weapons and reckless endangering convictions. Kauhi pleaded guilty for his part in the 1994 burglary and murder of Ellen Lum. Lum, 74, was beaten to death by Kauhi's brother, Samson, in her Makiki home. Harry Kauhi acted as a lookout for his brother, who is serving a minimum 50-year sentence for Lum's murder.

• Joshua Fields, six years of a 10-year sentence for multiple convictions related to the kidnapping and robbery of two female Japanese tourists. Fields and another man forced their way into the victims' hotel room April 7, 2000, assaulted the women and fled with about $300 in cash. Chris Linville, is serving a 15-year sentence after pleading guilty to similar charges.