Breaking News
Local News

Man in machete attack case found guilty of manslaughter

Jury finds Sylva guilty of lesser charge

By Lila Fujimoto 5 min read

WAILUKU -- A man who testified he "dispatched" a "demon" when he swung a machete to kill a man in a Queen Ka`ahumanu Center bathroom was found guilty Wednesday of manslaughter.

Kumulipo Sylva had been charged with second-degree murder of 35-year-old Makawao resident Eduardo Alejandro Cerezo.

After deliberating for less than four hours, a 2nd Circuit Court jury on Wednesday afternoon returned the verdict convicting Sylva of the lesser charge of manslaughter based on extreme mental or emotional disturbance.

"This verdict shows that the jury understood that this killing was not a murder, but the tragic result of neglected members of our community -- the homeless and the mentally ill," Deputy Public Defender Ben Lowenthal said. "This says a lot about the mental health crisis our island faces."

During closing arguments to the jury Wednesday morning, Lowenthal asked jurors to "reject fear and apply the law" and find Sylva, 24, not guilty by reason of insanity.

With no dispute that Sylva killed Cerezo, the trial focused on Sylva's mental state at the time of the killing on March 18, 2018.

That afternoon, Sylva was staring at Cerezo when he and his friend Kyle Keoho got on the Maui Bus at Pukalani Community Center, Keoho testified. When the three got off the bus at the shopping center, Sylva challenged Cerezo to a fight, but Cerezo said no and walked away, Keoho said.

He and Cerezo were talking and drinking alcohol shots in the second-floor bathroom near the Macy's men's store when Sylva walked in with the machete and swung it at Cerezo's neck, Keoho said.

Testifying for the defense, psychologist Melissa Vargo and psychiatrist Dr. Martin Blinder said they believed Sylva was experiencing delusions and hallucinations and was so substantially impaired by his mental illness that he wasn't criminally responsible for the killing.

"He saw a demon. He killed a demon. His mission is to rid the world of demons," Lowenthal said. "His brain is not giving him the message that this is a human being."

Lowenthal said Sylva "has never wavered" in his belief that Cerezo "was a demon."

"It's what he told the police after he was arrested," Lowenthal said. "It's what he told the other people in the bathroom. He told you the person he struck his cane knife at was a minion of Satan, was not a human being."

Lowenthal said "Cerezo's death was brutal, violent and gruesome," and Sylva's "progression into madness . . . is sad and terrible."

Psychologist George Choi, who also examined Sylva, testified it was his opinion that Sylva's mental illness didn't substantially impair his ability to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct and to conform his conduct to requirements of the law.

Deputy Prosecutor Carson Tani, in his closing argument, said Sylva's own words showed he knew right from wrong and could control his behavior.

"I was angry. That man had it coming. He needed a wake-up call, a reality check," Sylva said while testifying in his own defense.

"This is moments before he swung the machete, nearly decapitating Alex Cerezo and killing him instantly," Tani said.

Sylva testified that when he saw Cerezo in the bathroom, "in that moment, I don't know why, I just decided to snap."

"Apparently, I did not think things through very well at all, and I caused harm to someone," he said. "Before that point in time, I don't think that would have happened. But it did."

Tani noted that Sylva spoke of "not a demon, but someone."

"He's telling you on the stand, 'Yes, I could control my behavior, but I chose to kill Alex Cerezo,' '' Tani said.

"All the doctors told us just because somebody is delusional or somebody is suffering from a mental disease, that doesn't mean they are substantially impaired," Tani said.

Choi was the only court-appointed examiner "who looked at the whole package, all the relevant facts," said Deputy Prosecutor Andrew Martin.

He said that included the exchange between Sylva and Cerezo on the bus and Sylva's actions after the killing when he fled the mall, threw his jacket in a trash bin on Wakea Avenue and continued on to the Kahului Community Center park tennis courts, where he buried the machete under dirt and grass.

Then Sylva ran farther into the park until he reached a fence separating the park from Hale Mahaolu. Police arrested him there.

"You've got to look at this conduct after the killing of Alex," Martin told jurors. "This is the conduct of any sane criminal individual."

"Actions speak louder than words, and the defendant's actions in this case are screaming to you that he is guilty as charged of murder in the second degree," Martin said.

Sylva is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 24 on the manslaughter charge, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

Judge Richard Bissen presided over the trial that began last week.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.

Starting at /week.