Killer's minimum set at 100 years

Convicted wife killer Roy William Hartsock will have to serve 100 years of his life prison sentence before he is eligible for parole, according to the minimum set by the Hawaii Paroling Authority.

However, Hartsock, 41, can ask for a reduction to the minimum after he completes a third of that or 33 1/3 years.

“;But it hasn't been granted that easily,”; said Jeen Kwak, who prosecuted the case, “;And that will be when he's in his 70s.”;

Hartsock pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the Jan. 9, 2008, stabbing death of his wife, Jenny Hartsock, at the couple's Gulick Avenue apartment. He also agreed to an extended penalty of life in prison with the possibility of parole. The mandatory prison sentence for manslaughter is 20 years.

Hartsock has 27 prior convictions and was on parole for first-degree burglary when he killed his wife.

Missing Big Isle woman found dead in Kona lava field

The body of a Big Island woman missing since May 4 has been found in a lava field in Kona.

Police said no foul play was suspected and the woman was suffering from a medical condition.

Everdina Malasig, 48, of Kealakekua was last seen alive on foot leaving Keahole Airport at about 1 p.m. May 4.

Police issued a bulletin asking for the public's help and received a tip that prompted fire officials to conduct an aerial search.

Her body was found early Tuesday evening about 100 yards off the west shoulder of Queen Kaahumanu Highway, just south of the Hawaii Ocean Science and Technology Park entrance.

2 children burned in fire that began in bathroom

Two Maui children were flown to Oahu after sustaining serious burns in a Kahului residential fire Tuesday night.

A 2-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl who reside at 110 Aoloa Loop were in a garage bathroom when the fire started, acting police Lt. Robert Stuhr said.

Stuhr said a relative forced open the door and rescued them from the bathroom.

The children received second-degree burns and were taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center. They were later flown to Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu.

Acting Battalion Fire Chief Sheldon Holokai said the injuries were serious, but not life-threatening. Holokai said the structure and its contents sustained an estimated $15,500 in damage.

The fire is believed to have started at the base of a gas water heater, police said

Wailuku police received a call at 7:20 p.m. Tuesday and the fire was under control seven minutes later, authorities said.

Man, 26, dies after truck overturns in Kurtistown

A 26-year-old Big Island man has died from injuries he suffered in a one-vehicle crash on Road 8 between roads E and F in the Hawaiian Acres subdivision in Kurtistown.

Christopher S. Bortz of Kurtistown was traveling north on Road 8 when the pickup truck he was driving crossed the center line and ran off the left side of the road and overturned, police said.

Bortz was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 8:38 a.m. yesterday, a little more than three hours after the crash was reported.

Police officers are investigating whether speed, alcohol or drugs were involved.

His death was the seventh traffic fatality on the Big Island, compared with 11 for the same period last year.