Woman fights for her life after alleged burglar tries to stab her

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On September 15, 2025, a distressed victim contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) and requested assistance after she was allegedly assaulted during a burglary at her home.

The suspect was arrested and charged with:

Count 1: Assault in the First Degree, a class A felony punishable by a term of life imprisonment, or a term of years not less than 10 and not exceeding 30 years;

Count 2: Burglary in the Second Degree, a class B felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not less than 5 years nor more than 15 years; and,

Count 3: Private Peace Disturbance, a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine not to exceed $300, or both imprisonment and fine.

Court records revealed that on Sept 15th, TPS received a call from a woman (later identified as the victim) reporting that someone had broken into her residence. The victim explained that she was inside her room, and that the suspect had threatened her with a knife.

Authorities were dispatched to the scene and met the victim. The victim appeared to be in a state of shock and was emotional from what had taken place.

She was asked if she was okay and if she needed medical assistance, where she verbally stated that she "was not okay and yes, she needed medical attention".

When asked to explain what happened, the victim stated she was in her bedroom on a phone call with her boyfriend when she heard the door suddenly close, and at first, she thought it was just the wind.

However, when she opened her bedroom door to check what it was, it was at that moment that she saw a tall, dark, man standing near her bedroom door holding a knife from her kitchen.

The victim continued that the suspect ran into her room, heading first to the door connecting to her parents' room. She claimed the suspect was checking whether anyone else was inside the house.

At this time, she tried to run out of the room, but she tripped. The suspect came towards her, bent down, and was about to stab her.

She explained that the suspect lifted his right hand and pointed the sharp end of the knife down towards her while she lay there with her back on the floor.

Fortunately, she was able to kick the knife out of the suspect's right hand.

Nevertheless, the suspect choked her using both his hands, and grabbed her by the neck and lifted her head upwards, and then slammed her head on the floor. During this time, the victim said that she was able to take hold of the knife, and she used it to cut the suspect's arm. This prompted the suspect to let go and flee the way he had entered the house, through the back door.

An investigation later revealed that the victim and the suspect were neighbors, and the victim identified the suspect as Mose Mania.

The suspect was taken to the TPS and later Mirandized, at which point he understood and agreed to provide a verbal statement.

When the suspect was interrogated about what happened, he admitted that he entered through the back door. He stated that he wanted to go inside the house to see if there was anything valuable he could steal.

He was asked if he knew there was someone inside the house, and he replied that he did. He explained that he entered the house, went into the kitchen, saw a white, medium-sized knife on the counter, and took it.

He then saw that one of the room's doors was wide open, with a woman standing at its entrance. He rushed in and headed to the door in the room to see if anyone else was in the house. He noticed the victim jumping from her bed and tripping on the floor as she tried to escape from the room.

Furthermore, the suspect admitted that he went towards the victim with the knife and threatened her, but she was able to kick the knife away from his hands. The suspect also stated that he tried to cover the victim's mouth so she wouldn't scream, but she cut him with the knife. At that time, he got up and ran back outside the way he came in.

The victim sustained bruising on the top of her head, a swollen ankle, and markings on her neck from being choked.

The suspect suffered a minor laceration to his arm below his elbow.

The defendant is identified as a 19-year-old U.S national.