WAILUKU — A Molokai man whose murder conviction was vacated by the Hawaii Supreme Court pleaded guilty Monday to a reduced charge of manslaughter for fatally shooting the mother of his children.

Marlin Lavoie, 42, entered the guilty plea as his retrial was set to begin in 2nd Circuit Court.

In addition to manslaughter based on extreme mental or emotional disturbance, he pleaded guilty to using a firearm in the commission of a felony and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

On March 20, 2013, Lavoie was a convicted felon and possessed a high-powered hunting rifle when he went looking for his girlfriend, 24-year-old Malia Kahalewai, who also is the mother of his four children, Deputy Prosecutor J.W. Hupp said, outlining what the evidence would have shown if the case had gone to trial.

Kahalewai was staying at a friend’s house in the Kawela Barns complex, and Lavoie tried to persuade her to leave and return to his residence, Hupp said.

“There was an argument for a period of time,” he said. “She continued to refuse to leave.”

At some point, she went outside the residence and sat on a couch on the porch.

After she repeatedly refused to leave with Lavoie, he went to his vehicle, then returned with the high-powered rifle, Hupp said. “He walked onto the porch, pointed it at her chest, fired a single round,” Hupp said.

The gunshot caused massive internal injuries to Kahalewai, who was pronounced dead shortly afterward at the hospital, Hupp said.

He said Lavoie left the scene with the rifle in his vehicle. He was arrested the next day when police located him near his residence on the East End of Molokai.

Later, Lavoie disclosed where he had hidden the rifle in bushes and buried under leaves, Hupp said. He said police recovered the Remington bolt-action 30-06 rifle with three rounds in its magazine.

When Judge Peter Cahill asked Lavoie to say what happened, Lavoie said that “under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance, I did cause the death of Malia Kahalewai.”

“I used a firearm to do so,” he said.

He said he knew the firearm was loaded and he had been convicted of a felony that prohibited him from owning or possessing firearms and ammunition.

Lavoie, who has convictions from 1999 for first-degree burglary and second-degree robbery, had purchased the rifle about two years before the shooting, Hupp said.

When the judge asked Lavoie what was his relationship with Kahalewai, he said, “We weren’t married, but we were supposed to be married.”

During his trial in 2015, a jury found Lavoie guilty as charged of second-degree murder and three firearms charges.

Second Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza, who presided over the trial, sentenced Lavoie to life in prison with the possibility of parole, plus another 20 years.

After he appealed the convictions, in November 2019, the state Supreme Court vacated the guilty verdicts and sent the case back for a new trial. The court said testimony shouldn’t have been allowed at the trial about five previous acts of domestic abuse by Lavoie.

Lavoie, who had been incarcerated at Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Ariz., was returned to the Maui Community Correctional Center in January 2020.

At the hearing Monday, when Judge Cahill asked Lavoie what was his plea to the charges of manslaughter, using a firearm in the commission of a felony and being a felon in possession of a firearm, Lavoie replied, “Guilty, your honor.”

A charge of keeping a loaded firearm in an improper place will be dismissed as part of a plea agreement between the defense and prosecution.

Under the plea agreement, the prosecution can seek consecutive sentences of up to 40 years in prison for Lavoie. He can ask for concurrent sentences for a maximum of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 11.

Cahill noted that the Hawaii Paroling Authority will decide how much more time Lavoie will spend in prison before being eligible for parole.

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