Woman calls cops after friend claimed her husband was beating her

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On August 10, 2024, a female individual contacted the Tafuna Police Subtation (TPS) to report a domestic violence incident between her friend and the friend’s husband.

The defendant was apprehended and later charged with the following charges:

Count 1: Private Peace Disturbance (DV), a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine of $300, or both; and,

Count 2, 3 & 4: Assault in Third Degree (DV), a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000 but not less than $150, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $1,000.

(Samoa News has withheld names of those involved to protect the identity of the victim in this case.)

According to the affidavit, on August 10th, at around 8:00 a.m, a female individual contacted the TPS to report an alleged domestic violence incident in progress. The female stated that her friend (victim) phoned her that her husband was beating her.

Police officers proceeded to the call and upon arrival met up with the victim.

The victim told the officers that her husband (suspect) got mad at her when one of her friends messaged her via messenger saying “good morning”. The victim explained that the suspect swore at her friend and then she told him that she never does that to his friends. The suspect left the room and out of anger, she threw their laptop on the floor. The suspect heard it because it made a loud noise and he came back into their room, and grabbed her by the hair and punched her in the head about four times.

She also recalled that the suspect then strangled her on the bed and threw her down on the floor. Moreover, the victim stated that the suspect continued choking her while yelling out profanities.

The suspect’s brother-in-law stepped in and tried to stop him and took the suspect outside. When they left the room, the victim stated she grabbed her phone and contacted TPS, when the suspect broke into their room and snatched the phone from her and told her that “she’s about to be killed”.

The suspect choked her again and grabbed the broom and struck her on the back three times and once on her head. The victim said that she yelled out for help to the suspect’s brother-in-law but he was just standing there watching.

A few minutes later, the officers arrived and the suspect was apprehended and transported to the TPS for further investigation.

Upon arrival at the TPS, the suspect was MIrandized where he waived his rights and offered a verbal statement regarding the incident.

According to the suspect, he had an argument with the victim about the phone and that nothing really happened. He stated he only slapped her about four times.

The suspect was then booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 25-year-old citizen of Samoa.