Brother says surfer
a victim of murder,
not manslaughter

By Gary Kubota
Star-Bulletin

WAILUKU -- The man who fatally shot big-wave surfer William R. Simpson Jr. in 1996 should have been convicted of murder and not manslaughter, Simpson's brother said.

Leslie Morreira said he felt Thomas Schillaci obviously wasn't acting in self-defense.

A Maui jury yesterday found Schillaci guilty of manslaughter based on extreme mental or emotional disturbance.

Schillaci, 31, a convicted drug felon, was also found guilty of four other felonies, including being a felon in possession of a firearm and car theft.

Schillaci's sentencing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 22 before Maui Circuit Judge Boyd Mossman. Schillaci is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Morreira said he felt his brother was shot because Simpson said his uncle worked for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

Morreira said he felt sorry for Schillaci's family.

"It wasn't their fault that their son did something like that," he said.

"He's a convict. I hope they can get through it as much as our family."

Simpson went to the Schillaci's residence in Olinda on June 3, 1996, to collect $2,000 in rent money on behalf of property owner Mike Waltze, Deputy Prosecutor Davelynn Tengan said.

He was shot after returning a second time to give Schillaci and his girlfriend a note saying Waltze authorized him to have access to the property, since Schillaci thought Simpson was a DEA agent, Tengan said.

A neighbor testified that she heard a man saying he wanted to leave shortly before hearing a gunshot.

Tengan noted that two guns, nine types of ammunition and crystal methamphetamine drug paraphernalia were found during a search of the home.

She said Schillaci -- who fled the scene while Simpson was bleeding but still alive outside the residence -- did not act like an innocent man.

Defense attorney Donald Wilkerson described Simpson as a "wild man" and "thug" who physically threatened to kill Schillaci and his pregnant girlfriend.

Wilkerson said Schillaci was defending himself and his girlfriend, who was being threatened with a knife held by Simpson.