HILO — There will be no new trial for a convicted murderer whose primary accuser dubbed "The Prince of Darkness."

Hilo Circuit Judge Glenn Hara yesterday refused to set aside the 1995 conviction of Tad Mason for the Aug. 27, 1991, strangulation death of Juliana "Trish" Laysa.
Mason, 36, is serving a life sentence plus 20 years in an Arizona prison for the kidnapping and slaying of Laysa, a 23-year-old prostitute whose body was found in a cane field above Alae Cemetery.
Mason, whose conviction was upheld on appeal, filed the motion in 1999 to set aside the jury's verdict. The state's main witness in Mason's trial was John Perez III, who is also serving a life term for Laysa's killing.
Mason had jumped bail while awaiting sentence for a 1992 charge of possessing a sawed-off shotgun when Perez implicated him. He was arrested in 1994 in a Las Vegas homeless shelter after being profiled on the TV show "America's Most Wanted." Mason had also been charged with the October 1991 killing of Jonelle Auna in Kona. That charge was later dismissed. Auna's homicide has not been solved.
Perez said he contributed to Laysa's death, but accused Mason of the actual killing. Perez said Mason called himself "The Prince of Darkness" and had sacrificed a dog in a satanic ritual.
The moniker, according to Mason, contributed to a pretrial media frenzy that prejudiced his ability to get a fair trial in Hilo. Mason requested a change of venue, which was denied by trial Judge Greg Nakamura.
Perez said he and Mason had sex with Laysa in the graveyard before killing her. According to court transcripts, an FBI laboratory found Perez's DNA, but not Mason's, inside Laysa.
Perez later recanted his testimony against Mason.
Mason, who maintains his innocence, accused attorneys Steven Strauss and David Kuwahara of ineffective counsel in his trial, and Keith Shigetomi of ineffective counsel in his appeal.
Hara yesterday ordered Deputy Prosecutor Jack Matsukawa to file written findings of fact and conclusions of law in the case by Oct. 25.
Mason's court-appointed attorney, William Heflin, will then have until Nov. 10 to file his own findings and conclusions.
"We're disappointed and don't agree with the court's decision," said Heflin.
Matsukawa called Hara's ruling "the correct decision." He declined further comment, saying Mason is likely to appeal.
Mason remained silent except to consult privately with Heflin as Hara explained his ruling.
Hara said that seating a jury was an "extensive" process, but ruled "a fair and impartial" jury had been found, including a juror Mason claimed should have been disqualified because of her exposure to pretrial media coverage of the case.
"It was an appealable issue," Hara said. "It could have been appealed. It was not appealed."
Mason, who did not testify at his trial, wrote that he remained silent on the advice of his attorneys.
"It appears to me that Mr. Mason is engaged in a lot of second-guessing as to whether or not he should have testified," Hara said. Noting that Mason and his attorneys went through a videotaped "mock examination," the judge said it was "hard ... to find that there was incompetence of counsel."
"There is no such thing as a perfect trial," Hara said. "Every trial contains errors, appealable errors. How do you identify those errors? I think Mr. Shigetomi went through that process."
Mason contended his parents should have been asked his whereabouts on the night of the slaying.
"I think it was established that (Perez and Mason) were together the same day," Hara said. " ... I think there is a basis for not pursuing that line of defense at trial."
Hara noted inconsistencies in Perez's testimony, calling the effect "cumulative," but added "heaping the blame on John Perez III or making him a worse person than he appeared to be at trial ... would not have changed the outcome of the trial." He said that Perez's admission to the murder "made it clear to the jury (about) Mr. Perez's bad character" and the issue of Perez's credibility "was adequately litigated."
Afterwards, Heflin called Hara's statement "ironic."
"The judge was talking about how the earlier court determined that some of the information regarding John Perez's untruthfulness in court would have been cumulative, but the court also noted that the primary evidence ... was that same witness' testimony," Heflin said.
Mason's father, Louis Mason, said from his Wisconsin home that Perez was a "punk" and a "gang leader," and that evidence of his gang involvement should have been admitted in court. He said his son wasn't a gang member but "wasn't afraid to take 'em on, not even Perez."
He called Laysa's slaying "an awful crime, really ... tragic," but said he still believes his son is innocent.
"Both his mother and I knew that he really had nothing to do with the murder, but how do you prove it, you know? If you're not there, how do you prove it?" Louis Mason said.
Heflin said the Mason he knows is "not 'The Prince of Darkness.'"
"I don't know about the Tad Mason of back then, but the Tad Mason I know is intelligent and thoughtful."
Louis Mason said that a decade-and-a-half behind bars has not broken his son's spirit.
"I think he's held up remarkably well. You won't find a single tattoo on his entire body. What does that tell you? He plans on getting out."