A court hearing on whether the 15-year-old accused killer of an 'Ewa Beach woman should stand trial as an adult has been delayed again, family and friends of the victim said yesterday.

Kevin Callahan, boyfriend of the victim, Karen Ertell, said yesterday, "We just got word from the detectives handling the case that the Family Court hearing has been delayed until January."

The 15-year-old youth charged in the rape and killing of Ertell has been held at the Alder Street Youth Detention Facility since May, pending a closed-door hearing on whether his status as a juvenile should be waived.

The Family Court hearing was originally scheduled for July 24, then delayed to November and now to January, according to Callahan and Ertell's foster daughter, Malanie McLellan.

"We're just afraid that this is a tactic to keep the case out of the public eye so that people will forget about it," Callahan said. "But we're not going to forget."

Friends and supporters of the victim mounted a letter-writing campaign earlier this year to urge Family Court waiver of the defendant. "We must have gotten 300 letters, but nothing has happened," Callahan said.

"I pass out fliers every day asking people to write letters," said McLellan.

"It just seems like our waiting is never going to end," she said.

Ertell, the 51-year-old owner of Koko Crater Coffee Roasters in Kaka'ako, lived on the same street as the defendant 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.

The defendant was originally charged with second-degree murder, but the charge was later amended to first-degree murder because Ertell was scheduled to be a witness against the youth in another criminal case.

He's also charged with first-degree sex assault, robbery, burglary, auto theft and credit card offenses.

Jim Fulton, executive assistant to Prosecutor Peter Carlisle, had no comment yesterday. "I'm unable to talk about a pending Family Court matter," he said.

Jeffrey Hawk, attorney for the defendant, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Hawk said in July he would resist any attempt to try his client as an adult.

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

If convicted of murder as a juvenile offender in Family Court, the defendant could only be held at the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility until he was 19 years old.

If convicted of first-degree murder as an adult, the defendant would face a term of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Reach Jim Dooley at jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com.