HONOLULU -- Darnell Griffin was found guilty Monday in the 1999 murder of 20-year-old Evelyn Luka.

The jury took one and a half days of deliberation. It reached the verdict without being informed that Griffin was convicted of a similar murder in 1993 for which he is still on parole.

Griffin was acquitted of rape, but prosecutors said because it was his second murder conviction he will be automatically sentenced to life without parole.

"This is one of the most gratifying verdicts I've experienced in my years with the prosecutor because by this verdict we take a sexual predator who was on his way to becoming a serial killer off the street," prosecutor Kevin Takata said.

In 1983 Griffin was sentenced to life in prison for the strangulation murder of another O'ahu woman. He was paroled in 1996.

Because this is his second murder conviction he is eligible for extended sentencing.

"He is eligible for life without parole without a separate hearing. We will definitely ask for that this man should take his last breath behind bars," Takata said.

Sentencing for Griffin is set for July 1.