A 51-year-old Líhu'e man admitted in court Monday that he killed his wife last March, pleading guilty to second-degree murder, the Garden Island newspaper reported.

Under terms of the plea agreement, Joseph Hoapili Sr. will likely receive a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole when he is sentenced March 25, said county Prosecuting Attorney Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho.

Hoapili's sentence will include a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison before being eligible for parole because he is a repeat offender with a prior drug conviction, said Iseri-Carvalho.

Hoapili was arrested and charged with second-degree murder early on the morning of March 3, 2009 in connection with the stabbing death of his wife, Fredlynn Hoapili, 53, in their Kress Street home in Líhu'e.