Husband allegedly assaults wife when she compares their baby’s teeth to his

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On March 3, 2025, a concerned father contacted the Fagatogo Police Station (FPS) and reported that his daughter was allegedly assaulted by her husband and was hiding at a store waiting for help.

The suspect was not found at the time of the incident but was later charged with:

Count 1: Assault in the Second Degree (DV), a class D felony punishable by imprisonment for up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000 but not less than a $150, or both imprisonment and fine; and,

Count 2: Private Peace Disturbance (DV), a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine of $300, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $5,000.

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

According to the court affidavit, on Mar. 3rd, at about 6:00 p.m., a man (later identified as the suspect) assaulted his wife (later identified as the victim) while their 6-month old baby was inside their house.

The suspect allegedly choked the victim on their bed and punched her about eleven times in her face and on her shoulder which left minor lacerations on the victim’s hands, a bruise on her left shoulder and her left eyelid and minor scratches on her left forearm and right side of her head.

The victim's father reported the incident to the FPS and stated that his daughter reached out to him that she was assaulted by her husband and she was waiting inside a store in the village.

Police officers responded to the call and upon arrival at the store, they were unable to locate the victim with the information that was provided to them. More officers arrived later to assist but were still unable to locate the victim until they went inside the store where the found her was standing in the back of the store.

The officers escorted that victim outside the store where she was questioned about the matter on the scene. The victim verbally stated that she was assaulted by her husband.

Police officers observed blood on the victim’s hands, she was barefoot, and the left side of her face was red. The officers requested for the EMS to treat the victim and asked her to make her way to the police unit to be transported to the FPS for further investigation.

Upon arrival at the FPS, the victim was interviewed again and treated by the EMs who arrived at a later time. The officers took photos of injuries and continued to interview the victim after being treated, to which she provided her written statement.

The victim stated that she was teasing her 6-month old baby — comparing her teeth to her father’s teeth — and it got the suspect/ husband angry. He started yelling profanities in Samoan which changed her mood. The suspect grabbed their daughter’s feeding bottle and walked to the sink to wash it while continuing to yell profanities at her.

Moreover, the victim explained that she told her husband that she was only teasing and trying to make their daughter laugh. She said she was sorry and apologized to him.

She put their daughter into her crib in the living room and walked inside their room where her husband was still yelling profanities and she apologized again to him.

However, the suspect accused her of having affairs and told her to find someone else to stay with which led them to having an altercation about how her husband was acting differently after finding out that he could possibly be getting back his old job with the Fire Department.

The suspect then angrily choked her on the bed and started punching her — he did so about 11 times.

Furthermore, as she held her hands up to block the punches, the suspect turned to her right side and punched her in the shoulder. The victim went on to further describe the assault on her person by the suspect, which included punches and slaps to her face and head.

To defend herself from the suspect, she grabbed one of the tea cups but he held her hand down. The victim stated that the suspect then heard their daughter crying and immediately walked over to carry her. The suspect walked back inside their room carrying their daughter and apologized for hitting her.

She then went to the restroom and came back into the room when she felt pain in certain areas of her body which the suspect had punched.

The suspect asked her to lay down with him after he laid their daughter back into her crib but she refused. This made the suspect angry and he choked her again and asked her what she wanted at the time. The suspect slapped her face again while their baby was there.

The victim claimed that as she tried to defend herself, she grabbed one of the window glasses (louvers) and threw it at the wall in their room, and she grabbed another one and hit the television which startled the suspect and he grabbed their daughter and walked outside the room.

At this time, the suspect’s aunt came inside their room and started scolding and blaming her for the suspect’s madness. The victim stated she was upset about what was said to her so she ran out of the house and headed to the store where she found a phone to call her father for help.

The officers returned to the scene to locate the suspect but he was nowhere to be found.

The defendant is identified as a 32-year-old U.S National.