A Waipahu man who killed his father and severely injured his mother during a hatchet attack in 2005 was sentenced today to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Circuit Judge Randal Lee ordered that Mark Kawakami serve a minimum of 15 years before he is eligible for parole.
City Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Takata said the minimum 15-year term was invoked because both victims in the case were 60 years old or older. Kawakami’s parents were both 79 when their son attacked them 12 hours after the son, by his own admission, smoked crack cocaine, Takata said.
The Hawaii Paroling Authority will set the minimum term beyond 15 years that Kawakami must serve, and Takata said he plans to ask for a minimum sentence of 200 years.
Under the terms of an agreement, Kawakami, 46, pleaded guilty in July to second-degree murder and attempted murder for attacking his parents at their Niuli'i Street home in Waipahu on Nov. 19, 2005. In exchange, prosecutors dropped charges of first-degree attempted murder and terroristic threatening. The agreement precluded the possibility that Kawakami might be found guilty of first-degree murder or might be found not guilty by reason of insanity, Takata said.
Kawakami, a crystal methamphetamine user for 10 to 15 years, dealt fatal hatchet blows to his father, Sueo Kawakami, and injured his mother, Janet Kawakami, Takata said during the July 24 hearing at which Mark Kawakami pleaded guilty to the lesser charges.
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