Man charged in death at Market Place

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Police have made an arrest after the body of a man was found in the stream by the Fagatogo Market Place last week Saturday.

When detectives arrived on the scene, they were told by multiple bystanders that the victim, identified as Kereta Vaili, had allegedly been assaulted by Roy Pitolay, which resulted in Vaili falling into the stream, resulting in his death, according to court records.

One of the witnesses at the marketplace told detectives that he had parked at the rear parking lot of the market at 3:30 AM and he observed an individual, allegedly Pitolau, hiding next to the corner of the market, with peeking around the side of the building.

The witness then observed a second individual, the victim, walking from the market going towards the banyan tree, with the victim proceeding to urinate at the side of the banyan tree, into the stream. 

The witness then observed Pitolau, who was hiding on the side of the building, taking his shirt off and using it as a mask, approaching a brick-wall structure next to the banyan tree and placing a bag next to the structure, and proceeded to come up behind Vaili, appearing to wrap his arms around the victim. 

He then heard one of them shouting “go away”, to which he then observed Pitolau punching Vaili, according to the report. Pitolau then allegedly hit the victim once more, causing Vaili to fall into the stream, and afterwards observed Pitolau walking back to the corner of the market where he was initially standing. 

The eyewitness then said he “walked towards the market and once inside, observed Pitolau, who used his shirt as a mask, now wearing his shirt properly, and wearing a white hairnet and black facemask.” The witness confirmed that Pitolau was the individual he saw earlier using his shirt as a mask and assaulting Vaili who was under the banyan tree. 

Detectives then interviewed Mrs. Pitolau, who provided a written statement. She told the police that she had been sleeping on the west side of the market to await opening hours when her husband woke her up, wanting to talk to her somewhere, but she refused when she caught the smell of alcohol coming from his breath. 

Pitolau then asked her if she and Vaili were there to sell plantation products, and told him “yes”. When Pitolau approached her again with the same questions, she refused to talk to him again and continued to the front of the market, where she was asked by someone if she knows what kind of slippers Vaili wears.  When she replied “blue slippers” she was informed that it was a possibility that Vaili who was afloat in the stream.  After hearing that she proceeded to run to the stream and observed Vaili face down in the water. 

After the interviews, police apprehended Pitolau and he was transported to the Central Station for further investigation, where he was immediately Mirandized.

 Pitolau made a verbal statement saying that he had been “hurting for 8 years regarding thoughts of his wife having an affair with Vaili”. In addition, he was also hurt due to the fact that he had been living on fishing boats while his wife was living with the victim at his residence in Malaeloa, and the victim would not allow him, the defendant, to come around the house. 

Detectives then asked the defendant about the incident at the market, and Pitolau only stated that “what happened, happened”. It is also noted in court documents that Pitolau said that he had been consuming alcoholic beverages. After receiving news that Vaili was pronounced dead at 6:40 AM, Pitolau was booked and confined to the Territorial Correctional Facility. Cause of death has been determined as anoxic brain injury and cardiac arrest. 

Pitolau is being charged with 3 counts of felony manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault in the third-degree, and is being held without bail.