Defense says killer of sister, grandparents insane

By Matt Pordum

Monday, March 7, 2005 | 8:19 a.m.

Twenty-one-year-old Dante Hanalei Pattison did kill his grandparents and his pregnant sister, his defense attorneys told a jury Friday.

However, they said Pattison should not be convicted of murder because he was insane at the time of the slayings.

In his deluded world, his relatives were assassins who were going to kill him, Pattison's defense attorneys said.

They said that's why, on Feb. 24, 2001, Pattison used a Russian assault rifle to kill 32-year-old Carrie Adric-Pattison, who was seven months' pregnant, and their grandparents, Yoshio Kato, 82, and Sally Kato, 75, at the Katos' home in the 1500 block of Valley Crest Drive.

Pattison could be sentenced to death if he is found guilty of the murders of his sister and grandparents. He is also charged with manslaughter with use of a deadly weapon for the death of Adric-Pattison's unborn child.

His defense attorneys argue Pattison is not guilty by reason of insanity, and they told the jury that doctors would testify Pattison's behavior and symptoms are consistent with rapid onset schizophrenia.

Deputy Public Defender Charles Cano said that when Pattison killed his relatives he believed he was on a mission from God and destined to be the emperor of Japan.

But in his opening arguments, Deputy District Attorney Giancarlo Pesci told the jury there was nothing delusional about Pattison's crimes.

Pesci played a tape of the frantic 911 call made by Pattison's grandmother.

"That was no delusion," Pesci said after he turned the tape off. "That's the reality of February 24."

Pesci said when police arrived they told Pattison to "come out and show us your hands." The prosecutor said Pattison "makes a decision to heed the command and he puts the gun down in the house and walked outside ..."

Pesci said Pattison's compliance with the officer's commands are one of the many indications that he was not insane at the time of the killing spree.

Cano countered that Pattison obeyed the police orders because he believed the police had arrived to save him from assassins who were out to kill him.

Although during three days of jury selection Pesci and Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo asked every prospective juror whether they would hold a person accountable for a crime if that person was under the influence of a drug such as methamphetamine, Pesci didn't say during opening arguments whether Pattison was believed to be using the drug.

Cano said Pattison's plight began with altered sleeping patterns and on Feb. 16, 2001, while at a friend's house he was acting oddly. A 911 call summoned police.

Cano said that while in custody Pattison "dropped to his knees and baptized himself in the toilet." The defense attorney said it was at this time Pattison "started to hear voices from God."

Cano said two days after being released from jail Pattison believed he was seeing signs from God. An airplane flying overhead meant God wanted him to go to the airport. When he drove by the Thomas & Mack Center and saw that a Christian concert was going on there that night, that meant God wanted him to be at the concert, Cano said.

In a bathroom at the venue Pattison again "baptized himself" in the toilet.

Cano said Pattison abandoned his vehicle at UNLV, took off his pants, jacket, shoes and socks and jumped into the Harbor Island pool to baptize himself once again. Pattison called 911 and told the operator "someone died in the pool and was born again."

On Feb. 23, Pattison shaved his head. The killings occurred the next day.

Cano said that while Pattison was at a dinner with his aunt, sister and grandparents, Pattison concluded that his family wanted to kill him.

Pattison's aunt, Grace Kato, testified that she heard a clamor coming from a bedroom in which Pattison and his sister were sitting. Through the doorway she saw Pattison trying to get a rifle out of its case and his sister pleading, "Don't hurt me! Put your arms around me!"

When Pattison saw his aunt, he told her to "back off." Kato retreated and went to call 911. While she was trying to disconnect her computer modem so she could use the phone, she heard a gunshot and returned to the bedroom to find her niece dead.

Kato told her parents Pattison had killed his sister and she ran from the house to a neighbor to call 911.

Prosecutors were expected to conclude their case this afternoon, with the defense opening its case with doctors of their own and testimony from Pattison's mother.