After wife woke husband, he allegedly beat her

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On December 9, 2024, a victim of domestic violence contacted the Tafuna Police Substation and reported that she was allegedly assaulted by her husband because she woke him up.

The defendant was arrested and charged with:

Count 1: Assault in the Second Degree (DV), a class D felony punishable by a term of imprisonment for up to five years, a fine of $5,000, or both imprisonment and fine; and,

Count 2: 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.

The defendant’s bail was set at $10,000.

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

According to the court affidavit, on Dec. 9th, at about 11:45 p.m., a female individual (later identified as the reporter/ victim) contacted the TPS regarding a domestic dispute between her and her husband.

According to the victim, her husband (suspect) got mad at her for waking him up, and grabbed her hair and slammed her head three times into the bed mattress. The victim stated that she felt light headed before she pushed the suspect away.

The victim continued that she tried to exit their bedroom but the suspect grabbed her by the hair a second time and started punching her on the head and facial area. The suspect, while still latched onto the victim’s hair then threw her onto the bed before getting on top of her and strangling her with both hands. The victim said that she almost blacked out while being strangled by her husband. She recalled she was in and out of consciousness and her vision was blurry. She made a final attempt to yell at her husband to stop, to which he complied.

When the officers arrived at the scene, the victim stated that her husband was inside the house. The officers proceeded into the victim’s bedroom and apprehended the suspect.

The suspect was placed into the police unit and both parties were transported to the TPS for further processing.

Upon arrival at the TPS, EMS was contacted to treat the victim’s injuries. The victim sustained bruises to her left arm just above her bicep, minor scratches to the upper left side of her back and several abrasions to her neck. The victim was treated and later released by the EMS.

The suspect was Mirandized and refused to make a statement.

He was booked and later transported to the Tafuna Correctional Facility to await the next sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 21-year-old U.S National.