Sisters allege unruly brother is out- of-control

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On July 24, 2025, the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) received a call regarding an alleged domestic dispute between a brother and his sisters.

The suspect, who had fled the scene, was later 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 $1,000, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $3,000.

Court records revealed that on July 24th, at around 11:37 p.m., a woman (hereinafter reporter) contacted the TPS and reported that her older brother, Absalom Fanene (hereinafter suspect) was allegedly causing a disturbance at their residence in Malaeimi.

Police responded to the call and upon arrival at the residence they made initial contact with the reporter. The reporter was able to identify the suspect as her older brother and that they stayed together in the same house.

She stated that she contacted the police station due to a domestic dispute in their home. The reporter stated that they were all awakened by the suspect furiously knocking on the door late at night. Since they were upstairs, the victim (suspect’s younger sister) instructed her son to go downstairs with her to open the door for the suspect.

At this time, the suspect continued to knock anxiously, yelling out in anger saying “hurry up, you wait, you’re going to get it”. As the victim opened the door, the suspect attacked her with a heavy duty LED cord which hit her on the face. The suspect also swung a broom at her and she tried to defend herself by shoving him back but the suspect continued to attack her with punches and pulled her hair.

The victim was also interviewed and confirmed what the reporter had stated, adding that her older sister (reporter) called the police.

The victim informed the officers that the suspect was aware that the reporter contacted the police and he had already left the residence and was nowhere to be found.

The investigation later revealed that this is an ongoing domestic violence confrontation between the sisters and the suspect stemming from the fact that the reporter suspected that Fanene was under the influence of drugs or something. The sisters (victims) stated that they don’t want the suspect to come near them or the house.

The defendant is identified as a 43-year-old U.S National.