Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario will hear arguments this afternoon on whether Matthew Higa, accused of murdering toddler Cyrus Belt in January by throwing him from a freeway overpass, is mentally fit to stand trial.

Only one of three experts who examined Higa, 23, concluded that the defendant is unfit.

That expert, forensic psychologist Dr. Dennis Donovan, said in a report made public yesterday that Higa "likely is mildly psychotic" because of past abuse of the illegal drug crystal methamphetamine.

Donovan met with Higa three times at O'ahu Community Correctional Center and indicated to the judge that his assessment of the defendant was a difficult one.

"Mr. Higa does have some of the capacities underlying fitness and at first glance, he does appear fit," Donovan wrote. "He certainly does not appear to be grossly psychotic, disorganized or to have psychomotor agitation or retardation."

But Donovan noted reports from social and psychiatric caseworkers at the prison that Higa laughs and smiles inappropriately and had claimed, and later denied, to have experienced auditory hallucinations.

"An OCCC psychiatrist told me that Mr. Higa had recently claimed to have heard the voice of Jesus speaking to him and had self-reported that he recently drank his own urine 'for Jesus,' " Donovan wrote.

On Aug. 12, Higa reportedly "exposed himself to a female staff member during recreation time" then claimed it was an accident because he "had a hole in his pants," Donovan wrote.

Higa gave inconsistent and contradictory statements about where he was and what he did the morning that Cyrus Belt died, according to the report. He claimed he is innocent of the crime but could not explain the statements of eyewitnesses who reported seeing him toss the child from the Miller Street overpass onto H-1 Freeway below.

Higa lived in a Punchbowl-area apartment, one floor above the unit where Belt lived with his mother and and her boyfriend.

How and why Higa allegedly took the child to the overpass and dropped him into onrushing traffic 30 feet below are not known. The crime, which occurred near noon on a weekday, shocked the state and received national attention.

Donovan reported that Higa "does not show signs of emotional distress one would associate with his position, which includes risk from other inmates because of the nature of the act he is accused of."

And the defendant "does not seem to appreciate his legal jeopardy and seems comfortable in the idea that he will (magically) be found not guilty," the psychologist reported.

"He wants to go to trial so that he can win and be released immediately," he wrote.

Higa "does not adequately demonstrate (mental) fitness," he wrote, adding that the condition could be both purposeful or outside of Higa's control.

"I think he is far more capable of recalling facts pertinent to his actions, thoughts, intentions and whereabouts" on the morning of the crime, Donovan said. "However, I doubt his present capacity to share this information with his attorney and to knowingly and intelligently participate in his own defense."

The two other experts who examined Higa described him as damaged by drug abuse but mentally fit for trial.

Defense attorney Randy Oyama and Deputy Prosecutor Rom Trader and were not available for comment on Donovan's report.