HONOLULU — A Honolulu man charged with murdering his wife in San Diego said Monday he isn’t fighting extradition to California.
Anthony Simoneau said at his extradition hearing in Honolulu he’s looking forward to returning to San Diego and fighting the murder charge.
“It’s just been quite a revelation,” he said of being arrested Thursday.
The San Diego district attorney’s office last week announced the filing of a murder charge against Simoneau, 46, in the disappearance of his wife, Fumiko Ogawa, 41.
Ogawa, a Japanese national, was last seen in 2007 near the home she shared with Simoneau in San Diego’s Point Loma area. Her remains later were found in Southern California’s Anza-Borrego desert.
Simoneau was arrested last week while surfing in Honolulu, where he’s been living for several years, said his public defender Lesley Maloian.
“He was arrested very suddenly, and his arrest was unexpected,” she said.
While living in the Waikiki area, Simoneau has “become stable,” operating a business cleaning and making dentures, and getting remarried last year, Maloian said. She noted he pleaded guilty to a Honolulu theft charge in 2011 but was given a deferral, or an opportunity to have the conviction removed from his record if he stayed out of trouble.
She said it’s unclear what prompted last week’s arrest but it might have been because of new evidence or a new witness.
The judge granted a request from Honolulu Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Darrell Wong that Simoneau be detained without bail. During the hearing, Wong alluded to financial issues surrounding the murder.
“They’ve been on his tail ever since they’ve been investigating this case and will be here soon,” Wong said of San Diego authorities after the hearing.
Steve Walker, a spokesman for San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, said they have 30 days to pick up Simoneau.
