LĪHU’E – Defendant Steven M. Wilson pled Guilty to Murder in the Second Degree in Fifth Circuit Court today before the Honorable Judge Kathleen Watanabe.
“I knowingly caused the death of Kendra Lewis,” Wilson stated in court.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Melinda K. Mendes, who represented the State, reported that Wilson stabbed 21-year-old Lewis sometime between April 11 and April 26, 2013, the day her body was found, in the unit they shared at the Kawaihau Sports Villas in Kapa‘a.
“Wilson intentionally or knowingly caused the death of Kendra Lewis by stabbing her with a knife – twice in the abdomen, twice in the chest, and in her neck,” stated Mendes. “The Defendant also stabbed Lewis multiple times in her back, and caused knife wounds to her cheek, legs and arm. The two had been in an intimate relationship and living together at the time he killed her.”
Wilson will be sentenced on September 10 to life in prison with the possibility of parole. The parole board will set the minimum sentence he must serve before being eligible for parole. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the State will be asking for a 40-year minimum before the parole board, and agreed not to seek any enhanced sentencing.
Attorney Craig De Costa represented the Defendant.
The lead detective in this case was Detective Bernard Purisima of the Kaua‘i Police Department.