A 15-year-old 'Ewa Beach boy charged with the strangulation murder of a neighbor could be the youngest juvenile on O'ahu to be treated as an adult in criminal courts.

The teenager remains in a detention facility as he awaits a closed-door hearing July 24 on whether the Family Court will waive jurisdiction over the boy and send him to circuit court.

His lawyer, Jeffrey Hawk, said he will contest prosecutors' request for a waiver.

"He's 15 years old and in the eyes of the law he's a child," Hawk said.

But, based on past rulings by Family Court judges, Hawk likely will face a steep challenge.

No Family Court judge has ever turned down a request to waive jurisdiction over a juvenile charged with murder in the past 10 years, according to data from the state judiciary. And a longtime Family Court judge cannot recall such a request ever being rejected.

Brook Hart, a prominent Ho-nolulu criminal defense attorney, said he wouldn't be surprised if the youth was waived.

"There mere fact that he's only 15, to me, is not enough to stop and say, 'We'll never waive the guy,' " Hart said. "It's only one factor."

The other key factor, legal observers say, is protecting the public.

The waiver issue is critical because it could be the most significant development in the youth's case.

If he is not waived and is found in Family Court to have committed the murder, he could only be held at the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility until he reaches the age of 19.

If convicted as an adult, however, he would face a mandatory life term in prison with possibility of parole, which likely would result in serving at least decades behind bars.

The youth is charged with the murder of Karen Ertell, the 51-year-old owner of Koko Crater Coffee Roasters in Kaka'ako, who lived on the same street as the boy in a quiet 'Ewa Beach neighborhood. Ertell's body was found at her home the afternoon of May 25 and her Volvo sedan was recovered that night at Geiger Park.

The boy was arrested the following night at his home after his father called police to turn his son in, police said.

Police described the murder as "very well planned, very well executed," called the crime "heinous and outrageous," and said they believe there's reason to waive him to adult court.

While the case shocked the community because of its violence and the age of the youth, it is not a part of a trend. Minors charged with murder are rare here, with no recent cases on O'ahu in which city prosecutors have asked for waivers, according to statistics from the state judiciary.

City prosecutors declined to talk about the case because Family Court proceedings are confidential.

But Ertell's family and friends are pushing for the youth to be tried as an adult.

"Only an adult's mind can actually plan and execute a murder and cover up a murder," said Malanie McLellan, who was raised by Ertell, her foster mother, since 1995, when McLellan was 15 years old.

McLellan, who was pregnant when Ertell was killed and gave birth to her first child earlier this month, maintains that keeping the youth behind bars for four years isn't enough time for him to comprehend what he did and not enough time to keep the community safe.

She said she must now live her life without her mother and her newborn son won't have a grandmother, while the youth, if not waived by Family Court, "would get a second chance in life."

The youth's mother said she and her husband do not want to comment about the case.

It's only been in the last 10 years that defendants as young as 15 could be sent to the adult criminal justice system. In 1997, state lawmakers passed a law that allows juvenile younger than 16 to be treated as an adult in serious felony cases.

Previously, youths under 16 had to be treated as a juvenile and released at age 19, according to Family Court officials.

The law was sparked by the notorious cases of John Sua. He was 15 when he shot and killed a Navy man outside a Waipahu bar in 1990, but because of his age he was not eligible to be waived to adult court. He was released from the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility when he turned 19. In 1994, he stabbed a man and left him paralyzed from his neck down. Sua was sentenced to a life term with the possibility of parole.

At the confidential waiver proceedings, the Family Court judge must assume that the juvenile committed the crime, which usually shortens the hearings to about a half day because the prosecution doesn't have to present evidence about the offense, according to longtime Family Court District Judge Bode Uale. Uale handled waiver hearings in the past.

Uale said that generally the juveniles don't testify at the hearing.

The hearings include testimony from a probation officer about the youth's background as well as testimony from a mental health expert because the judge must find the youth does not suffer from mental problems in order to be waived, according to Uale.

The judge will review the youth's past history and psychological evaluations before rendering a ruling about a week after the hearing, he said.

"I think doing a waiver hearing is very difficult because Family Court is supposed to help rehabilitate kids," he said. "But when you get a situation where a waiver is filed, you have to step back and look at it very hard — the seriousness of the offense, the protection of the community."

By waiving the youth, the judge essentially declares that the youth is beyond help in the Family Court system, he said.

"I think it's a tough call to make."

Jack Tonaki, state Public Defender, agrees the decision is difficult for judges when there's a death.

"You would hope that the judge looks at the best interest of the child, but there's also a lot of pressure from the other side seeking justice," he said.

He said if the waiver is denied, the decision would bring a significant amount of criticism.

"I don't think judges should think in those terms. In fact, in the perfect world, that type of criticism should not come into play at all," he said. "But they're human, too."

In the 'Ewa Beach case, Hawk, a court-appointed attorney for the youth, declined to talk about the strategy for his client because of Family Court confidentiality rules.

But given the fact that the judge must assume the boy committed the murder and that he has an arrest record as a juvenile since he moved to Hawai'i from New Zealand two years ago, the best chance for the youth will likely focus on his mental condition.

The defense could also seek its own expert to evaluate the boy.

Still, it's far from clear whether the youth suffers from any problem significant enough for the judge to keep him in Family Court.

If the youth is sent to Circuit Court, the case is treated like any other adult criminal proceedings, which would be open to the public.

Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com.