Wife and husband’s lover arrested for fighting

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Two women were arrested and charged for fighting and disturbing the public peace near an apartment in Malaeloa.

The government claims that the incident happened when the wife (named as suspect #1 in the affidavit) went to her husband (who was living with his new girlfriend at an apartment in Malaeloa) asking to use his car keys so she could go to the hospital with her niece.

That was when the wife was allegedly assaulted by her husband’s girlfriend (suspect #2).

Suspect #1, Matauaina Togise, 58, and suspect #2, Siainiu Taalolo, 48, are each charged with 3rd- degree assault and public peace disturbance, both misdemeanors.

Bail for each defendant is set at $500.

THE CASE

Around 7:32pm on May 31st, 2022, police officers who were patrolling the west side of the island received a phone call about an injured woman in Malaeloa at a rental apartment. Officers responded to the area and observed a woman holding her left eye with blood coming down near her eye. The woman was later identified as Matauaina Togise, suspect #1 in this matter.

Officers placed Togise inside the police unit to wait for EMS personnel. Officers then approached another female who was also present at the scene. She was later identified as Siainiu Taalolo, (suspect #2). Taalolo was placed inside another police unit. Both suspects were taken to the Leone Police Substation (LPS) for questioning.

From LPS, Togise was taken to the LBJ Tropical Medical Hospital for medical treatment.

Taalolo was Mirandized and she agreed to co-operate with investigators.

According to Taalolo’s statement, it was Togise who started the altercation when she came by to pick up the car keys from her boyfriend (Togise’s husband), by calling her out loudly for taking her husband away from her.

She said, Togise was really loud and everyone staying at the apartment came outside to see what was happening. That is when her boyfriend came inside their room and tried to calm her down, while Togise was still calling her names in a loud voice.

Taalolo, who had been taking a shower when Togise had come by, was finally able to dress and that’s when she then walked outside, grabbed the mop that was right next to the stairs and allegedly hit Togise in the head.

Taalolo didn’t know that Togise was injured until after her boyfriend told her that she had sustained injuries on her eye. She returned to their room and later decided to come out and see what was happening and saw that Togise's eye was injured. She felt bad.

Togise was also Mirandized and said she wished to make a statement of what happened.

According to Togise, she contacted her husband and asked him if she could use his car so she could go to the hospital with her niece and he said okay. When they arrived at the apartment in Malaeloa, her husband came down the stairs and she told her husband that she wanted to talk to his girlfriend Togise about their personal matters.

Her husband stopped her and told her that this is not the right time to talk things out and he doesn’t want anything to happen at the apartment, but she insisted.

She got mad and called Togise names and asked her why she stole her husband. Meanwhile, Togise was walking towards her but her husband kept holding her back, so she got a hold of Taalolo’s dress and tried to pull it, but she was shocked when Taalolo hit her with a mop.

Both suspects were booked and confined at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TFC) awaiting the next sitting of the Court.