Posted on: Thursday, October 10, 2002

Teen gets life for killing man

By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — Michael Verece, who was 16 when he fatally beat and stabbed another man last year, has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

The body of Tetsuya Takahashi, 20, of Fuchu City in Tokyo, was found near an underpass in Kea'au on Feb. 18, 2001. An autopsy determined that he had suffered a severe blow to the head, stab wounds and a broken nose.

Verece, now 18, was arrested the next day, and Family Court later waived jurisdiction, allowing Verece to face proceedings as an adult.

Court documents show Verece told several people he had killed Takahashi by bashing his head with a rock after using his ATM card to get cash for drugs.

In exchange for Verece's guilty plea to second-degree murder and an unrelated robbery charge, Big Island prosecutors agreed to drop kidnapping and robbery charges related to Takahashi's killing, and not to seek enhanced sentencing of life without parole.

In addition, prosecutors and Takahashi's parents agreed not to oppose the defendant's possible parole after he serves 20 years.

The victim's parents, Hitoshi and Chieko Takahashi, and his brother, Yusuke, flew in from Japan for Tuesday's sentencing hearing. All three spoke in court of their unending grief for Takahashi's lost future. He studied marine science at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo and was training to become a dive master.

Verece apologized to the family and told Judge Riki May Amano he was high on drugs at the time.

The judge also ordered Verece to pay the family $1,984 in funeral costs.