Prosecutors say they will ask the Hawaii Paroling Authority to require confessed killer Vernon Bartley to spend at least 100 years behind bars before he is eligible for parole.

Bartley, 18, has agreed to accept a life prison term plus 10 years with the possibility for parole for the May 2007 strangulation murder of his neighbor, 51-year-old Karen Ertell. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 18.

As part of the agreement, the state will not pursue a life prison term without the opportunity for parole. Bartley will give up his right to appeal any part of his prosecution, conviction or sentence.

“We’re talking about a 15-year-old who murdered his neighbor when he was underage. And that’s always been a concern for us that if this case were actually to go up on appeal, the issues would be scrutinized very carefully,” said acting Prosecutor Douglas Chin.

Chin said appeals courts across the country are taking a close look at cases involving juveniles charged as adults for crimes that carry the death penalty or life prison terms.

Chin said the sentencing agreement, formalized this morning in Circuit Court, locks in a sentence and gives Ertell’s family closure.

In March following a nonjury trial, a state judge found Bartley guilty of murder, burglary, unauthorized use of Ertell’s computer, stealing her car and other items, and stealing, possessing and attempting to use Ertell’s credit cards.