Teen to claim self-defense in murder trial

Associated Press

HILO, Hawai'i — Jury selection in the trial of a boy accused of murdering a college student from Japan last year was set to begin today in Circuit Court on the Big Island.

Defense attorney Brian De Lima told Judge Riki May Amano on Friday that his client, Michael Verece, 17, will claim self-defense in the death of Tetsuya Takahashi, 20, of Tokyo. De Lima said Takahashi tried to kill Verece with a knife.

According to court records, Verece confessed to stabbing Takahashi and then hitting him with a rock. The records say Takahashi was killed because he refused to give Verece money to buy drugs.

Takahashi's body was found Feb. 18, 2001, by a roadside south of Hilo. An autopsy determined he suffered superficial stab wounds and died of blows to the head.

Amano granted a prosecution request to block references to drug use by Takahashi, except for drugs taken on the day he died.

There is evidence Takahashi had been smoking crack cocaine the evening he died, De Lima said.

Verece, who was 16 when Takahashi was killed, will be tried as an adult after Family Court waived jurisdiction.

Takahashi had taken the semester off from the University of Hawai'i-Hilo to become certified as a scuba diver before resuming his studies in marine science.