Police yesterday added five additional counts, including rape and first-degree murder, to the list of criminal offenses pending against a 15-year-old 'Ewa Beach boy charged with the strangulation of his 51-year-old neighbor in May.

Police added counts of first-degree murder, first-degree sex assault, unauthorized possession of confidential personal information, theft of credit cards and fraudulent use of credit cards to charges pending against the boy who is being held at a juvenile detention facility in connection with the death of Karen Ertell.

"Just when you think it can't get any worse, it keeps getting worse," said Malanie McLellan, Ertell's foster daughter.

According to police, yesterday's counts are based on "continued investigation and lab results."

The boy was charged in May with second-degree murder, robbery, burglary and auto theft. He has been at the Alder Street juvenile detention facility since May, pending a Family Court hearing to waive its jurisdiction over him so he can be tried as an adult. A hearing on that issue scheduled for this month has been rescheduled for November.

McLellan said she is disappointed the waiver hearing has been delayed.

"It's just scary to think that someone like that could be back on the streets in a few years," McLellan said, referring to the chance that Family Court does not grant a waiver and tries the boy as a juvenile for murder, which means he could be sentenced to the Hawai'i Correctional Facility until age 19.

"I'm afraid of him," McLellan added. "I can't get any closure, and I think about it every waking moment. It's torture. I want it to be over with. I want him to go to jail."

The Honolulu prosecuting attorney's office declined to talk about the added charges. The boy's attorney, Jeffrey Hawk, could not be reached for comment.

Ertell, owner of Koko Crater Coffee Roasters in Kaka'ako, lived on the same street as the boy. 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" and called the crime "heinous and outrageous."

The first-degree murder count reflects that when Ertell was killed May 25, she was a witness against the suspect in a previous case. One of the elements of first-degree murder is killing a witness.

Ertell was served with a Family Court subpoena the day before she was killed, said McLellan. Ertell had been allegedly burglarized by the youth.

Police had requested information from authorities in New Zealand about the youth, who moved to 'Ewa Beach in 2005.

If Family Court waives its jurisdiction, the boy will likely be charged as an adult on all counts.

Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.