Honolulu babysitter found guilty of murder in freeway overpass toss of toddler
February 12th, 2010 - 3:53 pm ICT by BNO NewsHONOLULU (BNO NEWS) — A Honolulu Circuit Court judge on Friday convicted a babysitter of second-degree murder in the death of a 23-month-old toddler who died when he was thrown from a freeway overpass in January 2008.
Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario said Matthew Higa “intentionally and knowingly caused the death of Cyrus Belt.” Higa was dressed in a blue/yellow aloha shirt as he heard his conviction, shortly after 3.30 p.m. local time.
The mother of the murdered baby, Nancy Chanco, cried as she left the courtroom, moments after the conviction.
Higa’s attorney, Randall Oyama, argued that Belt was already dead when Higa intentionally dropped him from the overpass and suggested that the boyfriend of Belt’s mother might have been responsible for the boy’s death. The deputy medical examiner, however, said that the fall killed the child.
A date for his sentencing was not immediately set, but Higa may face life in prison with the possibility of parole.
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Tags: aloha shirt, babysitter, bno, chanco, circuit court judge, circuit judge, conviction, courtroom, del rosario, deputy medical examiner, dexter, freeway overpass, higa, honolulu, life in prison, local time, nancy, oyama, second degree murder