HILO, Hawai'i — The mother of an 8-year-old girl who was fatally shot three years ago said yesterday she hopes the child's father will "rot in hell" for the slaying.

Douglas John Fathke, 47, who has a history of mental illness, has said he does not remember shooting daughter Kelsie Fathke with a .30-caliber rifle on April 20, 2003, at their Na'alehu home. Defense attorney Brian De Lima said Fathke was experiencing delusions at the time of the killing.

Kelsie Fathke, a second-grader at Na'alehu Elementary School in Ka'u, lived with her father for part of the year at his business, Becky's Bed & Breakfast, under a joint custody arrangement with Memarie Dhillon, 36, of Tacoma, Wash.

"He was her father; she loved him and she trusted him," Dhillon told Hilo Circuit Judge Glenn Hara during a sentencing hearing yesterday. "The thought of the defendant ever laughing or enjoying his life repulses me, and I hope that day is far, far away."

Turning to look at Fathke, Dhillon said: "I know you will one day get what's coming to you because you messed with God's child, and I hope you rot in hell."

Fathke pleaded guilty to manslaughter, use of a firearm while committing a felony, and terroristic threatening for threats made to a 16-year-old B&B guest.

Dhillon urged Hara to impose consecutive sentences totaling 45 years. De Lima asked Hara to sentence Fathke to 20 years for manslaughter, with the other terms to run concurrently.

Fathke had no previous criminal record, De Lima said, and has taken responsibility for the crimes. Shooting his daughter is "something that he will have to live with while he is incarcerated for some length of time," De Lima said.

Hara recessed the hearing until May 2 to allow De Lima and Deputy Prosecutor Sandra Freitas time to argue whether the firearm and manslaughter convictions should be merged for sentencing purposes. If so, Fathke would face a maximum of 25 years instead of 45.

"Kelsie was my miracle baby," Dhillon said in court. "It took me five years to conceive her and he took that away from me. I can't stop wondering what my baby was thinking when he shot her, if she felt the bullet enter her cheek."

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.