Man gets 27 years for murder

A man who admitted to shooting his cousin on a public highway last February 1, 1997 was sentenced to serve 27 years behind bars, finally putting a lid on a murder case that has dragged on for five years.

Superior Court Associate Judge Juan T. Lizama imposed a 35-year imprisonment sentence, eight years suspended, on Oscar Reyes Babauta, who pleaded guilty last February to murder in the second degree.

The court also ordered the defendant to pay restitution to the victim’s family, who trooped to the whole-day sentencing hearing yesterday to witness justice at play.

Relatives and close friends of the deceased victim, Jose Boki Babauta, filled up one corner of the courtroom’s gallery, some of them in tears as they watched some of their family members take the witness stand.

The prosecution, led by Chief Criminal Prosecutor Clyde Lemons Jr. and Assistant Attorney General Kevin Lynch, called on seven members of the Babauta clan to recount before the court the tremendous amount of suffering they experienced in losing a loved-one, reliving the pain as though it happened only yesterday.

The first witness, Renu Quitano, who was directly behind the victim inside the van, recalled being frightened when the defendant shot the victim point blank.

Court spectators were especially touched with the testimony of Grace Babauta, the victim’s wife, who recounted the events that day on February 1, 1997 in tears. The widow recalled the hysteria that erupted when they found out her husband had been shot to dead.

Grace, who also shared to the court a self-composed “Victim Impact Statement,” further spoke about how her husband’s death has affected her life and how she never got over the fear of losing another loved one after the tragic incident. The emotional witness also prepared a 24-minute video of her life with her husband—which included footage of their wedding day and precious moments with their children.

Two of the victim’s close friends, Alex Tudela and William Quitano, also took turns sharing what they remembered about Joe Boki and the events that led to his death. The victim’s sister, Elen Hofschneider, also pleaded the court to deliver justice in the death of her brother, whom she looked up to as both a brother and a father.

Joe Boki’s sons Ian and Darryl Babauta also took the witness stand still grieving about their father’s death.

“Thanks to Oscar, I know what hatred is, and hate hurts. Hate doesn’t allow you to do what you to do, it only lets you do what you can do. We didn’t live, we just survived,” Darryl told the court.

After the family members finished saying their piece, the defense, through counsel Stephen Nutting, during the continuation of the sentencing hearing yesterday afternoon, called on an expert witness, Psychologist Dr. Laura Post to attest to the defendant’s character.

Based on her experience dealing with individuals in correctional settings, Post told the court that Oscar Babauta did not fit the profile of a man who had been convicted of murder.

She explained that persons convicted or accused of homicide typically exhibited hostile, argumentative, angry and/or minimizing behavior toward mental health experts such as herself. But Oscar did not behave in any such manner, Post testified.

The psychologist attested that Oscar was a good person who “became an actor of a group of people’s frustration” against the victim, Joe Boki and his cousins, for their alleged role in a 1995 incident when the latter had threatened Oscar’s father.

Without condoning Oscar’s criminal act, Post explained that his actions were a confluence of a lot of factors, including frustration about the long-standing battle between the Babauta clan, which drove him to momentarily snap and shoot Joe Boki.

Post told the court yesterday that the murder was not premeditated.