Former UH student charged in death of Texas professor

Associated Press

A former University of Hawai'i piano student has been charged with murder in the killing of a University of Texas music professor in Austin, Texas.

Jackson Fan Chun Ngai, 22, is being held for $1 million bail after being charged with the death of 56-year-old Danielle Martin. Police in Austin say she was hacked to death with a meat cleaver on Thursday night.

Ngai immigrated to Hawai'i from Hong Kong with his family while still in elementary school. His father and three brothers live in Honolulu.

UH music lecturer Bichuan Li said Ngai attended McKinley High School before enrolling at UH-Manoa, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree. He is a graduate student at the University of Texas.

Martin had multiple sclerosis and used a scooter to get around, and Ngai assisted her in getting to and from campus, said University of Texas spokesman Don Hale.

Ngai had recently been hospitalized because he was hallucinating and having bad dreams, Li said.

Li, who taught Ngai privately for four years, said that when she talked to the student about a month ago, he said he was having "some trouble" at school.