Jury decides man convicted of murder should get life without parole

A Circuit Court jury decided Wednesday that an extended sentence of life in prison without parole is justified for a man found guilty of murdering an 81-year-old woman in senior housing 25 years ago.

Gerald L. Austin will be sentenced on June 18 for the murder of Edith Skinner.

State law allows extended sentences in major crimes against people older than 59.

Skinner was found dead in her Kalakaua Avenue home in July 1989. Honolulu police recovered DNA from Skinner’s body, but could not match it to Austin until 2011. He was found guilty Feb. 5.

Austin was 29 at the time of Skinner’s murder.