Man on trial for gruesome machete attack at Maui mall found guilty of manslaughter

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - The man who claimed he saw demons moments before brutally killing a man inside a Maui mall bathroom last year has been found guilty of manslaughter.

MauiNow.com reports that jurors in the trial of Kumulipo Sylva case opted for the lesser count of manslaughter “based on extreme mental or emotional disturbance."

Sylva was charged with second-degree murder in the March 2018 death of 35-year-old Eduardo Alejandro Cerezo at Queen Kaahumanu Center.

Sylva admitted to slashing Cerezo’s throat with a machete, but his attorneys said he suffered from delusions linked to a mental illness.

“He does not see Alex Cerezo as a person. He sees a demon, a creature from hell crawling out of the ground,” said defense attorney Ben Lowenthal, in video provided to Hawaii News Now from Maui Now.

This story will be updated.

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