Husband guilty in wife's death

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

Prosecutors acknowledge that Darren Yokotake worked tirelessly to care for his invalid wife. However, when she died on March 21, 2001, they had no choice but to charge him with murder.

The Kane'ohe resident was charged with one count of second-degree murder in the death of Lisa Mariko Yokotake, 38. Prosecutors alleged that she died of gross neglect and that Darren Yokotake failed to seek and obtain medical treatment for her in the final days of her life.

Yesterday, Yokotake pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of reckless manslaughter before Circuit Judge Karl Sakamoto. Under a plea agreement, Yokotake will serve no more than one year of a 10-year prison term.

Under Hawaii law, second-degree murder carries a mandatory life term with parole.

Yokotake was the first spouse brought up on the so-called "murder by omission" charge. The charge is sometimes lodged against parents suspected of abusing their child and failing to seek proper care, resulting in the child's death.

But the Yokotake case differed because he had provided his wife with care. After Lisa Yokotake suffered a stroke and was paralyzed on one side more than six years ago, Darren Yokotake quit his job so he could be with her.

Near the end of her life, Lisa Yokotake said she did not want to see the doctor and her husband obliged, said Deputy Public Defender Edward Harada.

"He was just overwhelmed and burned out. I don't think there's a bad bone in his body," Harada said. "This case is perhaps one of those where at some point the best he could wasn't good enough."

Harada said he wanted to take the case to trial because he didn't believe a jury would have convicted Yokotake of murder. But he feared that his client could have faced more than one year in prison if he were found guilty of a lesser charge, such as manslaughter.

Harada said he did not believe the murder by omission charge was warranted in this case.

"I don't think this particular case calls out for one year of his life," he said.

City Deputy Prosecutor Rom Trader said this was a difficult case because Yokotake for many years provided the care that his wife needed. Trader called it a "very unusual murder case."

"What's hard about it is he loved her. I don't think there's anybody that's going to say any differently," Trader said. "He for the most part did as good a job as he could to take care of her. For whatever reason, he was unable to keep it up. She got worse, he knew that and should have taken her to the doctor."

Trader acknowledged that Lisa Yokotake expressed a dislike for doctors, but he said that shouldn't have stopped her husband from seeking treatment for her. Trader said the murder charge was appropriate.

"He had a legal duty to provide bare, basic, minimal care for his wife," Trader said. "Even though she may not have wanted that, our assessment is the law enforces that duty. You just can't let them deteriorate."

Darren Yokotake is free on his own recognizance and will begin serving his sentence Dec. 3. He will be placed on probation at the end of his prison term.

CORRECTION: Due to an editor's error, an online video promotion for this story erroneously stated the charge to which Darren Yokotake pleaded guilty.