Capobianco sentenced to life in prison with possibility of parole

MAUI (HawaiiNewsNow) - Steven Capobianco, the man convicted of killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend on Maui, has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

"Your actions were senseless, cold, calculated and self-centered, and for that you must serve an extremely severe penalty under the law, and all communities must be protected," Judge Joseph Cardoza said during the sentencing hearing on Friday.

In his closing remarks, Cardoza said that "as excited as Carly Scott was about the pregnancy, the defendant was not. The defendant seemed burdened that he would be tied to Carly for life for the birth of their child."

He added, "There is absolutely no question that the murder of a pregnant woman is outrageous and horrific."

As the hearing got underway around 8:30 a.m., Capobianco sat in the front row and watched as family and friends of the victim took the stand and gave their final words.

"I watched you for six long months as the trial unfolded ... through it all, I never saw any sign of emotion from you. I was struck by the evilness I saw in your eyes," Scott's aunt said behind tears.

When asked by the judge two hours later if he'd like to address the court, Capobianco declined to comment.

More than 70 witnesses were called to testify during the tense trial which lasted six months. It nearly ended with a hung jury, but the judge urged jurors to push through their deadlock -- and after three weeks, they finally reached a unanimous decision.

Capobianco was found guilty of second-degree murder and arson.

Carly "Charli" Scott was five months pregnant with Capobianco's son when prosecutors say she was lured out of her home under the false pretense that her ex-boyfriend's truck had broken down along a remote area of the Hana Highway near Keanae. The prosecution claimed Capobianco tortured Scott and stabbed her nearly two dozen times before setting her car on fire as payback for not getting an abortion.

Scott's body has never been recovered, but over the course of a months-long search of the Keanae area, investigators did find her jawbone, fingertips, hair and clothing. Court testimony revealed her skirt was punctured close to 20 times below the waistband.

Scott's mom, Kimberlyn Scott turned to Capobianco and asked, "Where is she?  Where are they, Steven?" She looked directly at him saying, "Give her back to us.  Do one decent thing, one decent thing and give her back."

Scott's father, Robert Scott had to be removed from the courtroom after lashing out at Capobianco's attorney, Jon Apo.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," he yelled just inches from Apo's face.

Jurors decided Capobianco qualified for an enhanced penalty of life in prison without parole -- it's an option given to them to consider when crimes are determined to be especially heinous, atrocious and cruel.

Judge Cardoza told Capobianco that he agreed but felt the law did not allow him to hand down the stiffer sentence.  He instead recommended 70 years before being eligible for parole.  The parole board will decide the minimum amount of time he must serve before he can be released.

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