Posted on: Saturday, January 22, 2005

Two-time killer granted new trial

By David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writer

A state judge has granted a request for a new trial for a woman convicted in the 1978 shooting death of a man at Hanauma Bay.

Circuit Judge Michael Town ruled yesterday that Maryann Acker is entitled to a new trial. Acker's ex-husband, William Acker, testified against her in the Hanauma Bay shooting. But the prosecution did not tell her lawyer that William Acker was serving life with the possibility of parole in a California prison for the death of another man whom the couple were accused of slaying in California four days after the Hanauma Bay killing.

Officials in the city prosecutor's office knew William Acker, the chief prosecution witness against Maryann Acker, might be paroled at some point for the California slaying. That information wasn't shared with her lawyer or former Circuit Judge Richard Au, who presided over her 1982 murder trial in Hawai'i, Town said in his ruling.

Maryann Acker's lawyer and the judge thought William Acker had been sentenced to life without parole for the California slaying, Town said. The judge said that may have kept Maryann Acker's lawyer from working harder to discredit her ex-husband's testimony.

City Deputy Prosecutor Christopher Van Marter ripped Town's decision, calling it "intellectually dishonest." Van Marter said the judge "ignored the facts in the case" and shaped his ruling to reflect what he wanted to see happen with the case.

Van Marter said his office will appeal Town's ruling to the Hawai'i Supreme Court.

Maryann and William Acker were charged with murder for the June 20, 1978, shooting death of Lawrence Hasker at Hanauma Bay. Each claimed the other did the shooting and each said they believed they were only going to rob Hasker. The same day Hasker was killed, the Ackers flew to California. They robbed and killed Cesario Arauza four days later. Each blamed the other at trial in California for Arauza's death and both were convicted in July 1979 of murder.

The Ackers were indicted in 1981 in Hawai'i for Hasker's death after the state repealed a law that prohibited one spouse from testifying against the other in criminal matters. Prosecutors agreed to charge William Acker with robbery in the Hasker case based on his willingness to testify against his former wife, Maryann.

Both Ackers are serving time in California for Arauza's slaying.

Town set a tentative date of May 9 for the new trial.

David Klein, Maryann Acker's local attorney, said she would likely have been paroled by now by the California authorities if not for the conviction in the Hasker shooting.

Reach David Waite at 525-7412 or at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com.