HILO, Hawai'i — A man in prison for the murder of a woman in Wahiawa more than 10 years ago was indicted yesterday for allegedly slaying another woman in Hilo in 1987.

A Big Island grand jury indicted Frank Janto, 44, on a charge of second-degree murder for the slaying of 65-year-old Rose Chiquita in a case that Big Island Prosecutor Jay Kimura said is based largely on DNA evidence.

A custodian found Chiquita's body lying on a bathroom floor at a gas station on Kino'ole Street in Hilo on the afternoon of Jan. 15, 1987.

The service station was about 200 yards from Chiquita's rented home, and an autopsy found she died of wounds to her head and body.

Janto is in prison on the Mainland serving a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole for the murder of Bongak "Jackie" Koja, 59, who was on her regular early morning walk on June 9, 1997 when she was attacked and killed at Leilehua High School.

Nearby residents apparently mistook a five-minute-long series of screams they heard the morning of Koja's murder for rowdy teenagers. Janto told police that he had been smoking crystal methamphetamine and cocaine before confronting Koja, and admitted to hitting Koja and pounding her head on the pavement on the high school grounds.

During that investigation, Honolulu detectives learned that Janto dragged Koja's body to the back of the school and dumped her into a trash bin. Later that day the trash bin was taken to the H-Power plant in Campbell Industrial Park, and Koja's remains were never recovered.

Police said the investigation into the Chiquita murder stalled until Honolulu police investigating the Koja murder realized Janto had lived on the Big Island, and noticed a similar "method of operation" in the two killings.

Big Island Police Lt. Randall Medeiros said the information about Janto was sent to his department in 1998, "and we ran with the ball from there."

The case against Janto for the Chiquita slaying was submitted to Big Island prosecutors in 2001. Prosecutors did ask police for some additional information, but the additional requests were not for "anything significant," Medeiros said.

Asked about the delay in indicting Janto, prosecutor Kimura said the case was assigned to several deputies, including one who has since left the office. He also said there was "additional work" to be done on the case.

"A lot of it was more technical since this is primarily a DNA case, and that's basically how the cold case came about, primarily from DNA evidence," Kimura said. "When a case is ready, it's ready. I can't say exactly when a case will be charged, but obviously when there was sufficient evidence, we brought the case forward."

The Big Island indictment will be served on Janto at a Mainland prison, and he will be brought back to the Big Island to answer the charge, police said.

The Hawai'i Paroling Authority set a minimum term of 75 years in prison for Janto for the Koja murder before he can be eligible for release on parole.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.