Kirk Lankford
Encyclopedia
Kirk Matthew Lankford is an American
from Kalihi
, Hawaii
who was convicted of murder
ing a Japan
ese tourist in Pūpūkea, Hawaii.
On April 12, 2007, Japanese tourist Masumi Watanabe disappeared in Pūpūkea. Lankford was arrested and charged with second-degree murder on April 26, 2007, after police found blood and items belonging to Watanabe in his pickup truck. Watanabe's body was never found, but the blood in Lankford's truck was determined to have been Watanabe's.
At his trial, Lankford pleaded not guilty. In his trial testimony, Lankford claimed that he had accidentally hit Watanabe with his truck, but that she had not been seriously injured and he offered to give her a ride to her destination. Lankford claims that after he began driving with Watanabe in the truck, she jumped out of the moving vehicle and hit her head on a rock by the road. When Lankford discovered that she had died, he says, he disposed of her body in the ocean because he said he was frightened that he would lose his job. Prior to his trial, Lankford had told police he had never seen Watanabe before.
The jury found Lankford guilty of second-degree murder. At his sentencing hearing, Circuit Judge Karl Sakamoto referred to Lankford as a "predator" and sentenced him to life imprisonment
. Peter Carlisle, the city prosecutor, asked the parole board for 120-years minimum imprisonment.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from Kalihi
Kalihi
thumb|300px|Historically, Kalihi was an [[ahupua'a|ahupuaʻa]], or area of land ruled by chief or king and managed by the members of the [[alii|alii]]Kalihi is a neighborhood community of Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi, United States...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
who was convicted of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ing a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese tourist in Pūpūkea, Hawaii.
On April 12, 2007, Japanese tourist Masumi Watanabe disappeared in Pūpūkea. Lankford was arrested and charged with second-degree murder on April 26, 2007, after police found blood and items belonging to Watanabe in his pickup truck. Watanabe's body was never found, but the blood in Lankford's truck was determined to have been Watanabe's.
At his trial, Lankford pleaded not guilty. In his trial testimony, Lankford claimed that he had accidentally hit Watanabe with his truck, but that she had not been seriously injured and he offered to give her a ride to her destination. Lankford claims that after he began driving with Watanabe in the truck, she jumped out of the moving vehicle and hit her head on a rock by the road. When Lankford discovered that she had died, he says, he disposed of her body in the ocean because he said he was frightened that he would lose his job. Prior to his trial, Lankford had told police he had never seen Watanabe before.
The jury found Lankford guilty of second-degree murder. At his sentencing hearing, Circuit Judge Karl Sakamoto referred to Lankford as a "predator" and sentenced him to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. Peter Carlisle, the city prosecutor, asked the parole board for 120-years minimum imprisonment.