Alleged victim of domestic abuse calls for help

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On October 1, 2025, a distressed victim of a domestic dispute called the Fagatogo Central Police Station (FPS) and requested assistance with her common law partner.

The suspect was later arrested and charged with:

Count 1: Private Peace Disturbance (DV), a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine not to exceed $300, or both imprisonment and fine; and,

Count 2: Assault in the Third Degree (DV), a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine not to exceed $300, or both.

The defendant's bail was set at $1,000.

(Samoa News has withheld the names of those involved to protect the underage minor in the case.)

Court records revealed that on Oct. 1st,, at around 7:30 p.m., victim #1 contacted the FPS reporting a domestic dispute between her and her common law partner at their residence in Matu'u. Fearing for her life, the victim had walked to their family's guest house and contacted the police for assistance.

Victim #1 also informed the officers that the suspect was carrying a knife and was looking for her and her daughter.

At approximately 7:50 p.m., the officers responded to the call and, upon arrival at the scene, they met up with victim #1 and her daughter (victim #2) at the family's guest house. She briefed the officers about what happened. Her daughter (a minor/ victim #2) was also interviewed in the presence of her mother. According to the minor, the suspect grabbed her by her shirt collar.

Victim #1 explained that they were all inside their house while her daughter was playing outside with a ball. Victim #1 claimed that the suspect wasn't happy about the noise and then started yelling at the minor using profanities, escalating to the suspect grabbing the minor by her shirt collar. At that point, she stood up and began to argue with the suspect.

Moreover, victim #1 stated that he told her if she called the police he would stab both of them (mother and daughter) with a knife if the police showed up at their house. The victim further stated that the suspect told her that he was not afraid to go to jail.

She then took her daughter to the family's guest house away from the suspect and contacted the authorities.

The officers approached the house to locate the suspect. On their way, they were told by an individual that they had seen the suspect walking towards the back and heading in the other direction. The officers searched the area for a while but were unable to locate the suspect.

The officers advised the victims to contact them if the suspect showed up again. As the officers were heading back, FPS received another call stating that the suspect had returned to the scene and was threatening to beat up victim #1. He also threatened her with a rock while chasing her around a car parked outside the guesthouse.

The police arrived back at the scene and pursued the suspect on foot, where he was later apprehended and taken to the FPS for the booking process.

The suspect was Mirandized, to which he understood and refused to provide a statement.

He was later booked and confined at the Tafuna Corrections Facility to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

The affidavit also noted that the victims feared for their lives and requested that the suspect be distanced from them. Victim #1 also informed the officers that it was an ongoing issue in their family.

The suspect is identified as a 51-year-old citizen of Samoa.