LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Kaua'i County Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho yesterday said she will seek a sentence of life without parole for Joseph Hoapili if he is convicted of killing his wife.

Iseri-Carvalho will seek the enhanced sentencing because the stabbing death of Fredlynn Hoapili, 53, early Tuesday morning was "especially heinous," she told District Court Judge Trudy Senda at Hoapili's initial court appearance yesterday.

Iseri-Carvalho also is asking that Hoapili's bail be doubled to $1 million. The prosecutor said she believes Hoapili, who is charged with second-degree murder, would be a flight risk if released on bond and poses a danger to the community, including his son John, whom she called a "crucial witness."

John Hoapili, 33, has told police that he saw his father stab his mother three or four times early Tuesday morning in the apartment they shared in downtown Lihu'e.

Kaua'i police records show that Joseph Hoapili, 50, has a "history of violence" toward family members, Iseri-Carvalho told Senda.

Joseph Hoapili was arrested and charged with family abuse or assault five times from 1995 to 2007, police records show. All of those charges were subsequently dismissed in court.

Senda set a hearing to consider increasing Hoapili's bail to $1 million for 1 p.m. today and a preliminary hearing in the case for 1 p.m. Monday.

During the brief court proceedings yesterday, Hoapili stood before the judge wearing an orange jumpsuit. He showed no outward emotion and did not speak.

At one point Hoapili looked over his left shoulder at some of the 15 or more friends and family in the courtroom, but didn't appear to make eye contact with anyone.

Hoapili has been held in the police cellblock since his arrest Tuesday at his home.

Outside the courtroom, Hoapili's 27-year-old daughter, Kristie, was reluctant to talk about the case.

"We're dealing with the loss of our mom, and we don't need this all in the newspapers," she said. "My dad was a very good man; he is a good man. He is my father."

"What he did to my mom, I cannot forgive him for it, but it wasn't always bad times. Us kids are having a hard time dealing with it. We're still trying to accept my mom is gone. It's a hard time because we lost both our parents."

A friend of the family said Joseph and Fredlynn Hoapili had six children, all of whom are adults. Funeral arrangements are pending.

People around Kaua'i were talking about the first killing this year on an island that doesn't see many.

Middle school history teacher Toni Tasaka said the killing is "shocking" for quiet Kaua'i, as she had an afternoon bowl of noodles at Hamura's Saimin Stand, which is on the street where the killing happened.

Parents, teachers and even her sixth-grade students are talking about it, said Tasaka, who said she doesn't know the Hoapilis.