Man arrested for assaulting his wife, accuses her of an affair with his father

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On July 29, 2025, Tafuna Police Substation received a call from a concerned mother reporting an alleged domestic dispute between her son and his wife.

The mother also reported that her son assaulted his wife after accusing her of having an affair with his father.

The suspect was arrested and charged with:

Count 1: Assault in the Second Degree (DV), a class D felony punishable by imprisonment not to exceed five years, a fine of not more than five years, or both imprisonment and fine; and,

Count 2: Private Peace Disturbance, a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine of $500.00, or both.

The defendant was held without bail.

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

According to the court record, on July 29th, at about 10:30 p.m., a man (later identified as the suspect) and his wife (identified as the victim) had a verbal argument at their residence. The alleged disturbance escalated when the suspect accused his wife (victim) of having an affair with his father.

An investigation into the incident later revealed that the suspect assaulted his wife using a metal crowbar, striking her three times. It was also revealed that the suspect and victim then drove to the suspect’s parents’ house to confront the suspect’s father and he later continued his assault on his wife.

Police officers responded to the call and upon arrival at the scene, the reporter (suspect’s mother) was observed by the road in Faleniu. The officers approached her and she explained to them the incident.

She said that they were asleep when she heard tires screeching from outside her home. She went to see what was going on and she saw her son and wife walking into the house. Her son came into her house yelling and accusing his wife of having an affair. He then punched her several times while the victim pleaded with him to stop.

Moreover, the suspect’s mother stated that this is not the first time her son has assaulted his wife and it upsets her. She explained that her son attacked her daughter-in-law with a crowbar before they came to her house and then continued beating the victim in her (mother’s) home.

The victim was interviewed and she verbally stated that she and her family arrived home while the suspect kept saying about her having an affair with her father-in-law.

She explained that the suspect asked her several times and she told him that “she is not having an affair with his father.”

She became terrified when she saw the suspect grab a medium sized crowbar to scare her into telling the truth about his accusations. The suspect continued to ask her about having an affair where he struck her with the crowbar. She said that she used her left arm to defend herself but was struck for a third time, which hurt more than the first two blows.

The victim stated that she tried to cover her face and does not recall where exactly the blows landed, as she was just concentrating on using her hands to defend herself.

Furthermore, the victim claimed that she had to say “yes” to all the accusations made by the suspect because she was terrified of the continuous beating.

Later around 10:00 p.m., they proceeded to Faleniu because the suspect wanted to confront his father.

When they arrived at his parents’ house, the suspect started to cause a disturbance and continued to assault her.

The victim sustained visible injuries, notably swelling on her left arm near her hand, wrist, and forearm. She also had some bruising and discoloration.

The suspect’s father was also interviewed at the scene where he stated that he was asleep when he heard his son yelling from outside. When he came out, his son was accusing him of having an affair with his daughter-in-law. He said he tried to calm his son down but he continued to yell at him.

He further stated that a chance was given for his daughter-in-law to speak and she stated that there is nothing between them.

The victim’s statement made the suspect mad where as he proceeded to assault her. The victim also told them that she was assaulted by the suspect in their home.

The suspect’s father further stated that this isn’t the first time the suspect has beaten up the victim.

The suspect was apprehended at the scene and transported to the TPS for further investigation. Upon arrival at the station, the suspect was Mirandized to which he understood and opted to make a statement.

According to the suspect, he confronted his wife about having an affair with his father but she “refused to speak the truth”.

He claimed that when his wife finally told the truth, they proceeded to his parents’ house to confront his father. However, upon arrival at his parents’ home, his parents refused to believe what he was saying about his wife’s confession. He was also angry when his wife changed her confession and claimed that she only said “yes” to the accusation because she was scared.

The suspect also claimed that he did not assault the victim nor use an object to strike her.

He alleged that the victim punched the wall at their home which left marks on her hand.

The suspect was later booked and transported into the Tafuna Correctional Facility to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 24-year-old citizen of Samoa.