Man arrested for domestic dispute threatens his mother who turned him in

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On May 6, 2025, a victim of a domestic dispute along with his mother walked into the Fagatogo Police Station to report that his older brother was allegedly causing a disturbance at home and threatened to cut his head off with a cooking knife.

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 of $300, or both imprisonment and fine; and,

Count 2: Assault in the Third Degree (DV), a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $2,000.

According to the court affidavit, on May 6th, at approximately 11:53 a.m, a victim and his mother walked into FPS to report that Bernard Muliau (later identified as the suspect) allegedly caused a disturbance at their residence.

The investigation disclosed that the suspect was yelling profanities, threw a rock at the victim, and also threatened to cut off the victim’s head with a cooking knife.

The victim and his mother were both interviewed and they verbally explained what had happened and informed the officers that this wasn’t the first time the suspect has done something like this.

After the victim’s interview, the officers headed out to the victim’s residence to locate the suspect.

Muliau was apprehended later and he told his mother that something bad was going to happen to her once he got out of prison.

A witness told the officers that the incident started when the suspect yelled at the victim regarding his speaker, and Muliau allegedly grabbed a cooking knife and threatened to cut off the victim’s head while yelling out profanities in Samoan. The victim ran when Muliau went to get the knife and he chased after the victim.

The victim stated that he was resting when his older brother (suspect) started an argument with him regarding his speaker. When they started arguing he saw his brother with a cooking knife and he then threatened to cut off his head.

The suspect was apprehended from their residence and transported to the police station for further investigation.

Bernard Muliau was later booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 22-year-old U.S National.