A Hawaii inmate convicted of the 1994 murder of a Japanese psychic and her son was killed in prison, authorities said.
Staff at the Halawa Correctional Facility in Aiea, outside Honolulu, found Raita Fukusaku, 59, bleeding on the floor of his cell with head and neck trauma early Monday, according to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
“It was determined that the victim had been assaulted and stabbed by his cellmate, a 38-year-old male,” Honolulu police said in a public information bulletin.
The cellmate was immediately removed and placed in a holding unit, the corrections department said.
Authorities were still investigating Tuesday. The Honolulu medical examiner’s office had not yet released a cause of death.
Fukusaku was the first Japanese national to be extradited to the United States and convicted of murder, Hawaii News Now reported.
He was serving a prison sentence for two counts of second-degree murder.
He was found guilty in 1995 of killing Kototome Fujita and her son Goro Fujita, according to KITV, which reported that Kototome Fujita was found shot in her penthouse and that her son was found dead in his car in a parking structure of a Waikiki hotel. The condo unit and Goro Fujita’s car were set on fire.
Myles Breiner, Fukusaku’s former attorney, told KHON-TV he never had any problems in the 30 years he’s been in prison.
“He wasn’t gang-related, he seemed to rise above all that. He got along with all the staff,” Breiner said. “I’m not satisfied with the fact that this occurred. This should not have occurred.”
Editor: Story has been updated with more details.
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