Convicted murderer Taryn Christian testified in court yesterday that he will not flee the jurisdiction if he is freed on bail pending retrial of his criminal case.

Friends and a family member also testified, describing Christian, 32, as a nonviolent, passive man who was never in trouble with the law before he was convicted by a Maui court of stabbing Vilmar Cabaccang to death in July 1995.

Christian has served 15 years of a 40-year prison sentence for the crime, but U.S. District Judge David Ezra ruled last month that Christian did not receive a fair trial and should be retried or released from custody.

Ezra ruled that three witnesses should have been allowed to testify at the trial that another man, James "Hina" Burkhart, confessed to them that he killed Cabaccang.

Burkhart, who is now serving federal prison time for other offenses, took the 5th Amendment when called to testify in the Christian trial.

Maui prosecutors appealed Ezra's ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which then directed Ezra to make a recommendation on whether Christian should be eligible for release from custody if he is granted a retrial.

Ezra said he will make a recommendation to the appellate court by early next week.

Attorneys for Christian called five witnesses to the stand to bolster their argument that the defendant should be eligible for bail because he is not a flight risk and does not pose a danger to the community.

Maui First Deputy Prosecutor Peter Hanano called no witnesses, a fact that Ezra pointedly mentioned at the close of the hearing.

"The state chose not to present any evidence whatsoever," Ezra noted.

Christian was born in South Africa and raised on Maui from early childhood. His stepfather, Paul Smith, testified that Christian was in the process of becoming a naturalized citizen when he was arrested for the Cabaccang murder.

In arguing for continued detention of Christian, Hanano stressed the defendant's noncitizenship and argued in court papers that Christian's mother, Lori Smith, told a neighbor on Maui in 1995 that she planned to take her son "to a foreign country to avoid trial" if Christian was released on bail.

But that neighbor, Warren Brown, testified yesterday that he couldn't remember Smith saying that to him. Nor could he remember relaying Smith's words to Maui police.

Brown said he has undergone brain surgery since he allegedly told Maui police officer Waldo Fujie what Christian's mother said.

Asked by Hanano yesterday if he remembered his 1995 conversation with Fujie, Brown said, "I don't remember and I don't know why I wouldn't remember something like that."

Fujie was not called to testify and Ezra pointed out at the close of the hearing that Brown's new testimony was not refuted by the prosecution.

And the judge expressed disappointment that Hanano did not know if the United States has an extradition treaty with the Republic of South Africa that would allow for the return of a fugitive wanted on criminal charges in this country.

(An extradition treaty between the two countries was signed in 1999, but according to recent South African news reports, that country's highest court is now considering legal challenges to the validity of the treaty.)

Hanano argued to Ezra that evidence from the murder trial showed that Christian is a danger to society.

One witness in the case testified that Christian owned a "double-bladed" knife that matched the weapon used to kill Cabaccang.

And traces of Christian's DNA were found on the sheath of the murder weapon, Hanano said. Blood from the victim and from Christian were on a jacket found about a mile away from the murder site, Hanano pointed out.

Defense lawyer Mark Barrett told Ezra that Christian does not dispute being in the vicinity when Cabaccang was killed, but categorically denies being the murderer.

Also testifying yesterday was William Jones, a longtime Maui neighbor of the Smiths.

Jones described Christian as an intelligent, ambitious, and nonviolent boy and young man who was working at two jobs and going to college at the time of the Cabaccang murder.

He said he is absolutely convinced of Christian's innocence.

Another witness, Michael Decarlo, said he became friends with Christian when the two men were incarcerated together in an Oklahoma prison.

Decarlo described Christian as "a very passive person" who was "a big inspiration to me."

"I learned a lot from him," Decarlo said. "He taught me how to stop and think."

Decarlo said he was released early from prison and parole for theft and drug charges and now owns his own auto detailing business.

Christian testified he has been "written up" once for violence in prison in 1999.

"A guy attacked me and that was it. He hit me and I hit him back," he said.

Christian said he wants to clear his name and wants to live at home during his requested retrial.

"I want to go back to my family," he said.