The Hawai'i Paroling Authority threw away the key to Kirk Lankford's cell door yesterday, deciding that the 24-year-old murderer must serve at least 150 years behind bars before he can be considered for parole.

City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle called the decision "richly deserved" for a man who is a "textbook psychopath."

A Circuit Court jury last year convicted Lankford of second-degree murder in the April 2007 death of Japanese visitor Masumi Watanabe, and he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Last month, the board met to determine how much time Lankford must serve before being considered for parole.

In a written statement released yesterday afternoon, HPA chairman Albert Tufono said, "Mr. Lankford's behavior after the victim died displayed a high degree of coldness and callousness. This unconscionable behavior is viewed very seriously by this parole board."

The 150-year minimum term will "ensure the future protection of the community, provide some solace to the victim's family and assess a punitive sentence," Tufono said.

Attempts to reach Lankford's lawyer, Donald Wilkerson, for comment were unsuccessful.

SECOND-LONGEST MINIMUM TERM

Carlisle maintained that Lankford lied on the witness stand when he testified that Watanabe's death was an accident and then continued to lie when he appeared before the parole board last month.

"He ignored his own lawyer's advice and spoke at his own peril" in that March hearing, Carlisle said.

Carlisle had asked the board to set Lankford's minimum at 120 years.

During the hearing, Tufono said, "What we have in front of us just screams out long minimum."

Carlisle said he believed it is the longest minimum prison term set by the HPA since the 235-year term set in 2000 for Byran Uyesugi, convicted of killing seven co-workers at Xerox Hawaii.

Louise Kim McCoy, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Safety, confirmed that the Lankford minimum is the longest after Uyesugi's.

Carlisle said he called Watanabe's parents at their home in Japan and Mrs. Watanabe was "overcome with emotion" at the news.

The parents, Hideichi and Fumiko Watanabe, attended most of Lankford's trial and also spoke at his initial parole hearing.

They brought with them 35,000 form letters signed by people in Japan asking that Lankford receive the highest minimum term possible.

They also asked Lankford to tell them where they could recover the body of their daughter, a shy young woman who had been sent to stay with friends here to learn how to become more outgoing and gregarious.

TESTIMONY REMAINED CONSISTENT

But Lankford told the parents and the parole board the same story he told on the witness stand.

He said he accidentally struck Watanabe with his pickup truck on the morning of April 17, 2007, as she walked on the side of Pupukea Road, injuring her slightly.

He said he did not report the accident because he was afraid that he would lose his job with Hauoli Pest Control, and tried to drive Watanabe to the home where she was staying.

During that drive, he said, she became alarmed and jumped out of the truck, striking her head fatally on a roadside rock.

Lankford testified that he put the body in the back of his truck and worked through the remainder of the day with the body hidden in the truck. He said that after he returned the truck to the company's yard in the Mapunapuna area, he left Watanabe's body there and drove home in his personal pickup truck, then picked up his wife and child and went to church for band practice.

Later that night, Lankford testified, he bought garbage bags, a shovel, gloves and duct tape at Home Depot before returning to the base yard and transferring the corpse into his own truck.

Then, Lankford said, he drove to the North Shore and tried to dig a grave near Kahana Bay, but was interrupted by a homeless man.

Lankford claimed he then drove to a shoreline area near Kualoa Ranch and carried the body, encased in garbage bags, several hundred yards offshore by walking on the reef.

Lankford said he dropped the body in the ocean and returned home.

REDUCTION POSSIBLE IN 50 YEARS

Carlisle continued to express doubts about Lankford's version of events yesterday, saying he believes the remains of Watanabe were disposed of on land.

Lankford's story of burial at sea is remotely possible but highly unlikely, Carlisle said.

Defense attorney Wilkerson has appealed Lankford's conviction, and Carlisle said that once the appeals process has been exhausted, Lankford may have a change of heart and reveal the location of the remains.

Under the current rules of the HPA, Lankford can ask for a reduction of his minimum sentence, but only after he has been in custody for 50 years — one-third of the sentence, according to Carlisle.

Last week, Watanabe's parents filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit against Lankford and Hauoli, nearly two years after she died and one year after Lankford's conviction.