Prosecutor says keep killer in jail forever
By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer
A man who emptied a shotgun into his estranged wife in a Waikiki parking lot in 1992 committed a cold and calculated murder and should never be allowed to leave prison, the city prosecutor who handled the case told parole board members yesterday.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
City Deputy Prosecutor Maurice Arrisgado told members of the Hawai'i Paroling Authority that a panel of mental health experts who examined William James "Jimmy" Kotis found he was among the highest level of psychopaths.
Robert Ching tells the parole board, including chairwoman Mary Tiwanak, how he feels about William Kotis, who murdered Ching's stepdaughter, Lynn Kotis, in 1992.
Circuit Judge Richard Perkins found Kotis guilty of second-degree murder on May 30 following a nonjury trial and sentenced him on Sept. 6 to a mandatory term of life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Perkins handed down the sentence almost 10 years to the day after Kotis yanked 29-year-old Lynn Kotis out of a car at knife point, chased her, cornered her and gunned her down with a shotgun he had purchased two days before.
The slaying shocked the community and highlighted the problems of preventing domestic violence after it was learned that William Kotis had obtained a permit earlier that month for the weapon he used, despite a 1988 conviction for abusing his wife and despite her pleas, dating back to 1985, for court and police protection from her husband.
The hearing yesterday was to determine how much of the life sentence Kotis must serve before he is eligible for parole.
Arrisgado told the panel Lynn Kotis had begged her husband not to kill her.
In the days leading up to the shooting, William Kotis told friends of his plans to kill his wife and then carried out that plan, Arrisgado said.
Robert Ching, Lynn Kotis' stepfather and the only family member present for yesterday's hearing, stood about eight feet away from William Kotis and told him that he not only killed his stepdaughter but his family as well.
His wife left him and his adult son and daughter live apart from him as well. His three brothers and sisters live in Hawai'i, but "whenever they look at me, they are reminded" of the tragedy that took place nearly 11 years ago, Ching said.
The family still gets together to celebrate birthdays and holidays, but those happy occasions always seem to come to a premature end, Ching said.
"I will want you to suffer for the rest of your life," Ching told Kotis.
Dwight Lum, William Kotis' lawyer, asked parole board members to set a 15-year minimum term before his client is eligible for parole. That is the same minimum term Perkins ordered Kotis to serve because he used a firearm to threaten, kidnap and ultimately to kill Lynn Kotis.
Despite being described by Arrisgado as a psychopath, William Kotis was assaulted twice in prison and four times at the state hospital, but never fought back, Lum said.
Kotis has been in custody since the day he shot his wife and should get credit for serving nearly 11 years, Lum said. If parole board members followed that recommendation, Kotis would be eligible for parole in about four years.
Kotis told the panel he went to the apartment his wife shared with her new boyfriend in hopes of convincing her to go home with him. Lynn Kotis had gotten into the car with him, William Kotis said, when her new boyfriend intervened.
William Kotis said he lost control at that point and took the shotgun out of a garment bag and began shooting.
The minimum term set for Kotis will be made public in about two weeks.
