(BIVN) – Patricia Wong has been sentenced to life in prison and a consecutive twenty-year prison term for the murder of Kaycee Smith.

The 62 year-old Wong appeared in Hilo Circuit Court on Tuesday, where she was sentenced to the maximum penalty of life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Wong, who is from Naʻalehu, was found guilty by a Hilo jury on November 27, 2023, of charges of Murder in the Second Degree, Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, Conspiracy to Commit Murder in the Second Degree, and two counts of Criminal Solicitation.

Kaycee Smith was killed at a residence in the Orchidland Estates subdivision in June 2009. Smith had a single gunshot wound to her head.

According to Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen:

…Wong appeared in Hilo Circuit Court where she was sentenced to the maximum penalty of life in prison with the possibility of parole for both Murder in the Second Degree and Attempted Murder in the Second Degree. Wong was also sentenced to a concurrent twenty-year prison term for two counts of Criminal Solicitation and a single count of Conspiracy to Commit Murder in the Second Degree. The Court ordered that the twenty-year prison term be served consecutively to the life in prison term.

“We are glad the Court recognized the severity of the actions taken by the Defendant by handing down a consecutive sentence,” said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Annaliese Wolf, who prosecuted the case along with Matt Woodward. “She made a plan to commit murder and took relentless criminal actions to achieve her goal of killing Kaycee Smith. The Court has provided a clear and strong message to the Defendant that her actions were abhorrent, egregious, and deserved the most serious punishment and that there is no place for this kind of heinous conduct in our community.”

“We hope that this sentencing brings some sense of closure for Kaycee Smith’s ‘ohana and friends,” said Prosecuting Attorney Waltjen. “This would not be possible without the hard work of our police, victim advocates, and prosecutors, especially Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Annaliese Wolf, Matt Woodward, and Duane Kokesch. I would also like to the thank the jury for their time and service.”