Suspect found fit for trial in death of security guard in Kaneohe | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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Court proceedings against a man indicted for second-­degree murder in the 2022 death of a security guard in Kaneohe are scheduled to resume in April.

William Michael Bell has been in custody at the Hawaii State Hospital for the past two and a half years after allegedly fatally stabbing 77-year-old Michael "Mike" Chu of Kailua, who was in his car in the parking lot at the Windward City Shopping Center near the 24 Hour Fitness.

On Monday, Judge Ronald Johnson approved Bell's request for his trial date to be moved from Aug. 25 to April 13 before Judge Fa'auuga To'oto'o, waiving his right to a speedy trial.

The judge on June 24 found him fit for trial, based on the findings of the panel of three mental health experts, and maintained his bail at $1 million. He ordered that Bell remain at the Hawaii State Hospital pending trial.

Previously on June 1, 2022, he had been found unfit to proceed to trial due to a mental disorder.

Chu was found stabbed and bleeding in his car in the parking lot of the shopping center, where he was scheduled to work at 6 a.m.

The Honolulu Medical Examiner found that Chu was stabbed multiple times.

A witness heard a scream for help at about 5:50 a.m, then saw a man walk away from Chu's sedan. The witness then noticed a lot of blood on the ground outside the driver's side door.

The security guard, who Chu was scheduled to relieve, heard a verbal confrontation in the parking lot and said he saw a man walking away from the driver's side of Chu's car.

The guard and the witness rendered aid until Emergency Medical Services arrived.

Chu was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The witness who rendered aid told police the suspect was a panhandler who frequents the shopping center.

Bell was spotted in Wahiawa that afternoon by police officers, who said they saw him with multiple knives in his front pants pocket and an expandable baton in a holster on his waist.

He was arrested Dec. 7, 2022, at Honolulu District Court after he made his court appearance in a separate weapons case.

Chu, a husband and father, was about to become a grandfather for the first time when he was killed.

He was a founding member of the Kailua Community Basketball League.

He had worked in administration at St. Francis School and also worked at Saint Louis School and St. John Vianney Parish School.