A 43-year-old Waipahu man told police he heard voices telling him he was "chicken" and to "do it" before he attacked his parents with a hatchet at their Waipahu home in the pre-dawn hours Saturday, killing his father and seriously injuring his mother, according to court testimony yesterday.

Mark Kawakami, a crystal methamphetamine user for years, also had a history of mental illness dating to high school or earlier and had been seeing a psychiatrist and was supposed to take medication, his older brother Stanford Kawakami testified.

A police detective also testified that Mark Kawakami gave a taped interview saying he had a confrontation with his parents, went to his room, heard the voices and attacked the two in the living room.

At the end of the hearing, Honolulu District Judge Lono Lee ordered Kawakami to stand trial on charges of murdering his father, Sueo Kawakami; attempting to murder his mother, Janet Kawakami; and the terroristic threatening of the older brother.

If convicted, Mark Kawakami faces a mandatory life term without parole, the state's harshest sentence. He is charged with attempted first-degree murder for trying to murder or murdering more than one person. He is also charged with murdering his father in such a "heinous" manner that prosecutors believe the sentence should also be life without parole.

Lee scheduled Kawakami's arraignment for Dec. 5, at which time he is expected to plead not guilty and receive a trial date.

Deputy Public Defender Walter Rodby, Kawakami's lawyer, later said he didn't know if his client was high on ice at the time of attack, but said an insanity defense is one of the options he's considering. "Clearly, he was not in his right state of mind," Rodby said.

Rodby said his client only now is beginning to realize "what happened Saturday morning" and has shown signs of remorse.

"He's pleased to hear that his mother's condition has improved," Rodby said.

Kawakami, who is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, appeared in slippers and leg shackles and a blue O'ahu Community Correctional Center jumpsuit. He remained silent during the hearing, occasionally swiveling in his chair during the court testimony.

Homicide detective Randal Nakamura testified that in a taped interview Sunday, Kawakami said he had heard voices telling him "do it, do it" and "you're chicken."

Kawakami said he left his bedroom and attacked his father and then his mother, who was seated on a sofa.

The detective testified that, according to a doctor's report, the mother suffered four cuts to the back of her neck, a broken neck and a fractured spine. She had been in critical condition, but has been upgraded to guarded condition, Nakamura testified.

The father died from head and brain injuries from the hatchet striking both sides of his head, chief medical examiner Dr. Kanthi De Alwis testified. He also had defensive wounds in trying to ward off the attack.

Stanford Kawakami, 47, who lived at the Niuli'i Street home with his brother Mark and the parents, appeared composed as he glanced at his brother as he took the oath and pointed him out in court. He said his parents were both 79 years old.

He testified that his brother had been pestering their father on Friday for money. He said he suspected it was for drugs.

He said he told his father not to give money, but the father at one point gave the brother some cash.

Stanford Kawakami testified that he woke up hearing his brother yelling about 2:30 a.m. Saturday. He said that when he opened his door, he saw his brother with the hatchet, 12 to 14 inches long, telling him he had just killed their parents and threatening to kill him and challenging him with the weapon raised in his right hand.

Stanford Kawakami said that when he got his hunting knife, his brother left in their father's car.

The older brother said he never saw the suspect take his medication.

"I seen him talk to himself, but that was when he was high on drugs," he said.

He also testified that the suspect had threatened him on other occasions.

Mark Kawakami's criminal record includes a 1996 charge of abusing a household member, his brother Jeffrey, according to the prosecutor's office. The charge was later amended to misdemeanor assault.

Mark Kawakami did not challenge the assault charge and pleaded no contest, but the case was dismissed after he stayed out of trouble for a year and attended domestic violence control counseling, according to his court file.

Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com.