Cassman
SANTA CRUZ - Gerald Galaway Jr., the man accused of killing Santa Cruz attorney Celestial Cassman, pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, first-degree attempted sexual assault and kidnapping in a Maui court Tuesday.
Galaway's attorney, William Sloper, declined to ask for a bail hearing. Galaway is being held without bail at Maui Community Correctional Center, prosecutor John Kim said.
Judge Joseph Cardoza ordered Galaway to remain in jail until his next court date on Nov. 2. If he were released on bail, Cardoza ordered Galaway not to possess any weapons.
Galaway appeared in Wailuku at a Second Circuit District Court of Hawaii wearing a chest brace and a plaid, short-sleeved shirt. He stared down for much of the hearing.
When Cardoza asked Galaway, 38, if he understood that he was due back in court in November for a pretrial conference, he nodded solemnly and said "Yes."
Galaway is set for trial on Dec. 2. He faces life in prison if convicted, according to sentencing rules.
John Kim, the prosecutor, said Tuesday that there would be no preliminary hearing - which determines whether there is enough evidence to hold him for a trial - because of the grand jury indictment against Galaway. Prosecutors sought the indictment because of the severity of the alleged crime and because they did not want to delay the case.
"We didn't know when he was going to come out" of the hospital, Kim said.
Sloper, Galaway's attorney, declined to comment on the case Tuesday but reiterated that Galaway was "presumed innocent" until proven guilty.
Maui police said Galaway and Cassman got in a fight on the side of a highway in northwest Maui on Sept. 1, a day after they arrived together and checked in to a Kaanapali hotel.
Galaway pulled over their Subaru rental car partly on the road's shoulder, and Cassman screamed for help at a 60-year-old woman who stopped, police said.
The woman saw Galaway put Cassman in a headlock and slam her to the asphalt road, according to a police report. Galaway dragged Cassman into a volcanic area near cliffs that plunged to the ocean, police said.
The 60-year-old woman eventually borrowed a cellphone and called 911.
When police arrived they chased Galaway - who was wearing only a shirt - until he leaped from a 100-foot cliff into the ocean and was later rescued by helicopter, authorities said. He was in a Maui hospital until Monday with injuries from his cliff dive.
Police said Cassman's body was found under a tree just after dusk. Her swimsuit top was ripped. She died of asphyxiation, authorities said.
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18886746
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