Man deemed fit for trial in Hilo stabbings case

A 29-year-old man accused of stabbing three people 17 months ago in Hilo has been found fit to stand trial after he was previously found unfit.

Proceedings had been suspended in the case of Varaha Mims, who is charged with attempted first-degree murder, three counts of attempted second-degree murder, burglary, property damage and marijuana possession. Hilo Circuit Judge Glenn Hara set arraignment and plea for 10 a.m. Nov. 3. A trial date is expected to be set then.

Mims was not in the courtroom but appeared via video from Hawaii State Hospital in Kaneohe, Oahu. He’s accused of a midnight rampage on May 23, 2014, and is alleged to have stabbed Skylar Nelson, then 28, and Sarah Steinbrecher, then 27, outside Hilo Town Tavern. He then allegedly fled on foot to Wainaku and stabbed his former landlord, Raghunatha John Giuffre, then 49.

Both Nelson and Giuffre were hospitalized with critical injuries but have since recovered. Steinbrecher was treated for her wounds and released.

In April, Mims was found unfit by Hara following a series of hearings that took place over a period of several months. At that time, psychiatrist Dr. Andrew Bisset and psychologist Dr. Marvin Acklin found Mims unfit, and another psychologist, Dr. Alex Lichton, said he was unable to form an opinion on Mims’ fitness.

Both Acklin and Lichton testified they thought Mims was malingering, meaning either the feigning or exaggeration of symptoms of mental illness.

Another round of examinations were ordered, and the second time around, all three examiners, Acklin, Lichton and psychiatrist Dr. Leonard Jacobs, found Mims fit to proceed.

“We’re glad that the process is moving forward,” Deputy Prosecutor Joseph Lee said after the hearing. “This case has been pending for quite awhile.”

Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.