Man charged with attempted murder is held without bail

Judge says the defendant is ‘a danger to his wife’

WAILUKU — Saying a man was a danger to his wife, a judge ordered Tuesday that the defendant continue to be held without bail on charges including attempted murder.

Danny Bennett, 73, of Kihei had asked to have bail set in his case.

His attorney, Matthew Nardi, said Bennett has no criminal record and is a “successful physician” who owns a surgical center in Kansas.

Before a decline in plastic surgery in the pandemic, he had been traveling there and continuing to do surgeries, Nardi said.

He said 47 family members and friends signed in by videoconference to support Bennett at the court hearing Tuesday.

Bennett had posted bail after he was arrested in November on charges of assaulting and abusing his 77year-old wife before he was arrested and charged with another assault last month.

“The November assault was bad enough,” said Deputy Prosecutor J.W. Hupp.

He said Bennett hit his wife on her head with a wine bottle Nov. 7, causing lacerations to the back of her head and her face, as well as bruising. She waited until the next day to seek help for her injuries by going to a neighbor’s house, Hupp said in a memorandum asking for the no-bail status to remain.

He said Bennett’s wife had allowed Bennett to return to the home.

Then on Jan. 21, “he came at her again, assaulted her again,” Hupp said.

He said in his memorandum that Bennett threatened to kill his wife and strangled her from behind with a wash cloth.

“He grabbed a large knife and told the victim in detail how he would slowly cut her open rubbing the knife along several places of her body while describing how he would kill her,” Hupp said. “He told her that if he was arrested again, and she was still alive, he would find her and kill her along with neighbors who may try to help her.”

She was hospitalized for three days after being assaulted.

Bennett had posted $100,000 bail to be released before he was indicted on charges of second-degree assault, two counts of abuse, attempted first-degree murder, felony abuse, intimidating a witness and first-degree terroristic threatening. He has pleaded

not guilty to the charges.

After being arrested Jan. 29, Bennett was in the “booking” area at the Maui Police Department when he made a call to his daughter that was recorded, Hupp said. He said that during the call, Bennett admitted he tried to kill his wife and said “next time it will be murder.”

Nardi said Bennett was talking about how he had been arrested on the more serious charge after posting bail, even though nothing new had happened.

“He’s explaining the charges ‘keep increasing on me,’ ” Nardi said. “He’s not saying he’s going to kill somebody.”

Bennett had a black eye after he and his wife fought, Nardi said. “She was saying awful and hurtful things,” Nardi said. “He wanted her to stop.”

He said Bennett was asleep when police showed up at the house.

Hupp said Bennett’s wife went into hiding after his arrest in January.

“She’s terrified he’s going to get out and he’s going to locate her and kill her,” Hupp said.

Nardi said Bennett wanted to go to the Mainland if he were released on bail.

“Separating them by an ocean would solve that problem,” Nardi said. “I do not think there is a danger to the community.”

After reading the transcript of what Bennett said after his arrest, 2nd Circuit Judge Peter Cahill said he could understand why Bennett’s wife “may have a reasonable fear.”

“This is not one event. It’s two in close proximity with one another,” Cahill said. “Whether he’s a danger to the community or not, I’m not sure. He is certainly a danger to his wife.”

While those on videoconference for the hearing may be supporting Bennett, “that doesn’t diminish the danger to the complaining witness in this case,” Cahill said.

“I appreciate that if I let him go and he posted bail and went back to Kansas City, there’s a distance between here and there,” he said. “But I don’t know that that would happen. I don’t have any assurance from all these other people that they’re going to accept the responsibility of something not happening again.”

A July 12 trial was set for Bennett.