Randall Saito: escaped killer and mental patient arrested in California

Saito was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity in 1981. Committed to Hawaii State Hospital, he escaped 38 years later by hopping on a flight

Randall Saito being arrested in California (Photo: ABC News)
Randall Saito being arrested in California (Photo: ABC News)

Hawaii Gov David Y Ige blasted mental hospital officials for the escape of killer Randall Saito and for their failure to notify law enforcement officials for 10 hours.

At least seven Hawaii State employees were suspended without pay for the next 30 days and more might be placed off-duty as internal investigations proceed.

Hawaii State Hospital, where Saito escaped from (Photo: KHON2)
Hawaii State Hospital, where Saito escaped from (Photo: KHON2)

No one can visit patients and no patient can leave the property, said Ige.

"This never should have happened," Ige said at a news conference on Wednesday. "This incident was a result of a major breakdown," in hospital security procedures. All hospital protocols and procedures are being scrutinized, he said.

Randall Saito, 59, was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity in 1981 and was committed to the Hawaii State Hospital on the island of Oahu.

38 years later, Saito left, went to a park, took a taxi to Honolulu airport, chartered a flight to Maui and caught a plane to San Jose, California, said Honolulu police.

Acting on a tip from a cab driver, San Joaquin County Sheriff's Deputies arrested Saito on Wednesday morning in Stockton, California.

Saito is charged with felony escape. His bail has been set at $500,000, Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin said at the news conference.

Authorities are currently in the process of extraditing Saito from California to Hawaii. There, Chin said he plans to show a judge that the escape was planned and executed in a "premeditated" and "methodical" way and the court should increase the bail or hold Saito in jail.

"Our argument on this case is he wasn't suffering any mental defect," Chin said.

Saito was committed to the state hospital after his acquittal in the 1979 slaying of Sandra Yamashiro.

Saito shot Yamashiro, 29, who authorities said was picked at random, and then fatally stabbed her at a Honolulu shopping mall.

At Saito's trial, a judge found him not guilty by reason of insanity and had him committed to the state hospital. Saito was later diagnosed with sexual sadism and necrophilia. He had sought release from the hospital for years but was denied.

"Because he committed a murder, no matter how long ago it was, he still has ability or inherent ability to do another murder or violent crime," Deputy Prosecutor Wayne Tashima told KGMB.

The FBI, US Marshals Service and other federal agencies teamed up in the search for Saito, KGMB reported. Authorities at the Wednesday news conference did not explain how Saito was able to charter the flight to Maui and pay for the plane ticket to San Jose or why he was in Stockton.

They also did not say if he had help. Surveillance video from his cab ride showed Saito with a backpack filled with supplies, including a mobile and charger. He didn't have a backpack when he escaped. Saito was also seen texting on the phone and looking through the backpack as if he was looking at its contents for the first time.