Cook gets life term for slaying at hotel
By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer
With her courtroom filled with family members and friends of the late Tom Matsuda, Circuit Judge Sandra Simms yesterday sentenced the co-worker who fatally stabbed the Sheraton Waikiki executive sous chef two years ago to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
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Simms, who presided over the trial of Tam Van Huynh last summer on a charge of second-degree murder, said she remained troubled by what she described as a senseless act of violence.
Tam Van Huynh was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Sheraton Waikiki executive sous chef Tom Matsuda.
During the trial, Huynh's lawyer, Nelson Goo, never denied that Huynh stabbed Matsuda. But he said Huynh was mentally ill at the time, could not control his anger and did not understand that stabbing Matsuda was wrong.
City Deputy Prosecutor Rom Trader said during the trial that a minor scheduling change caused Huynh to fly into a rage and that Huynh stabbed his boss simply because he did not get his way.
Matsuda, 49, a father of three who earned manager-of-the-year honors at Sheraton, had worked at the hotel for 22 years.
"There are many unanswered questions in this case and they all come back to why such an obviously senseless crime had to occur," Simms said.
Trader described Matsuda as a family man more than anything else, one who was driven to succeed at work but who always found time for his children, teaching them the virtues of hard work, strength and independence. Matsuda took "immeasurable pride" in his career and even more so in his family, Trader said.
"It took him a whole lifetime to aspire to his dreams and to claw his way to the top of his profession," Trader said. "It took only a few minutes of the defendant's time to take that all away."
Huynh sat slumped forward in his chair, emotionless, throughout the hearing. Simms asked Huynh if he wanted to say anything on his own behalf, but he declined.
Huynh, 42, was to have been sentenced in October but the hearing was put off until yesterday after Matsuda's son, Warren, 27, was killed in September when he fell to his death from the Makapu'u Lighthouse Trial while returning from a night fishing trip.
According to trial testimony, Huynh had been unhappy about a minor schedule adjustment Matsuda had asked him to make.
Huynh met with Matsuda in his office on the day of the stabbing, Dec. 1, 2000, and left the office to return to his work station preparing salads. He came back a few minutes later and stabbed Matsuda without warning. Kitchen workers heard a commotion inside the office and rushed to help Matsuda, while other workers detained Huynh.
Huynh had a history of confrontations with co-workers. In two of those instances, knives were involved.
Simms ordered Huynh to begin serving his sentence immediately. It will be up to the Hawai'i Paroling Authority to decide how much time he must serve before he is eligible for parole.
