Three mental health experts have declared Vernon Bartley mentally fit to stand trial next month on charges of raping and murdering Karen Ertell two years ago in 'Ewa Beach, when Bartley was 15 years old.

One of the experts said in a report made public yesterday that when Bartley was questioned by police about the crime, he demonstrated "choking the life out of Ertell" and "gave a short smile and silent laugh, apparently replaying the murder in his mind."

Bartley, who turned 17 last month, sat quietly beside his lawyer, Jeffrey Hawk, during the brief court hearing yesterday.

It closed with Circuit Judge Michael Wilson finding Bartley fit for trial, scheduled to begin June 19 before Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall.

Ertell lived across the street from Bartley and his family in 'Ewa Beach and was scheduled to testify against the young man on a burglary charge just days after she died.

Bartley is charged with first-degree murder because Ertell was to be a witness in the pending criminal case.

The crime shocked residents in the area and prompted introduction of a bill at the Legislature, called "Karen's Law," requiring that 15- to 17-year-olds charged with first-degree murder be tried as adults.

The bill this month failed to pass out of a House-Senate conference committee — the second year in a row lawmakers did not approve it.

Under current law, juveniles accused of murder can't be tried as adults until they are waived by the Family Court, a process that can take more than a year to complete.

In Bartley's case, a Family Court judge ruled in October 2008 that Bartley could be tried as an adult.

Shortly after he was charged in Circuit Court, his lawyer asked that Bartley's mental fitness be examined, saying that when he was first arrested, "he complained of hallucinations and had trouble sleeping."

Dr. Terence C. Wade, a psychologist who examined Bartley April 15, said in his report that the defendant began abusing alcohol, marijuana and cocaine when he was 12 or 13 years old.

"Records also indicate that Mr. Bartley has the name 'Dog' as a member of the 'Bloods' gang," Wade's report said.

All three experts who examined the defendant said in reports to the court that Bartley was not substantially mentally impaired in 2007 and is fit to stand trial now.

Dr. Kosta Stojanovich cited evidence that Bartley planned for two days "to do what he eventually did" to Ertell, 51.

Because he knew it would be wrong to again burglarize Ertell's home, Bartley "hid himself behind the door between the kitchen and garage, spending perhaps 10 minutes waiting for the victim to come out of the kitchen," Stojanovich reported.

That behavior showed "mental resourcefulness and a clear criminal intent," the report said.

The contents of the mental examination reports cannot be used against Bartley in the trial, First Deputy Prosecutor Douglas Chin said.