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Alleged domestic violence incident lands both victim and suspect in jail

Tafuna Police Station
reporters@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On October 27, 2024, a family member of a victim reported an alleged assault at a nightclub by the victim’s boyfriend. The incident was classified as domestic violence that landed both the victim and suspect in jail.

The suspect/ defendant was later charged as follows:

Count 1: Private Peace Disturbance (DV), a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000, or both;

Count 2: Assault in the 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; and,

Count 3: Assault in the Third Degree (As a C Misd.) (DV), a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine of $300, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $3,000.

On October 27th, at about 2:30 a.m., the TPS received a call from an individual who reported that a couple were arguing in front of their house and the situation was escalating.

Police officers were dispatched and upon arrival at the scene, they observed a female individual (later identified as the victim) being rowdy, yelling back and forth with her family.

The officers apprehended the victim and placed her inside the police unit to be transported to the TPS for further investigation.

The officers then spoke with a male individual (witness) who was at the scene where he verbally stated that the disturbance started from a nightclub. He stated that they witnessed Ralph Autufuga (suspect) slap the victim in the face.

The witness explained that to prevent the situation from escalating at the nightclub, the victim’s brother waited until they got home to confront the suspect for assaulting his sister.

Upon arrival at the house, the victim’s brother confronted the suspect while the victim defended the suspect. The disturbance escalated when the victim’s family members were against the victim for defending her boyfriend (suspect/ defendant). The victim’s family claimed that they heard rumors that the suspect had been beating up the victim but he was never reported. As of that night, the family claimed that they witnessed that the rumors were true and felt that something must be done before the situation gets worse.

Later that morning, both the suspect and victim were transported to the TPS for further investigation. Upon arrival at the station, witnesses of the incident were interviewed where it was revealed that the ongoing domestic violence between the suspect and the victim was the cause of the alleged disturbance.

The victim’s brother stated that he was defending his sister (victim) because she doesn’t speak up about what the suspect has done to her. He could not “handle any of it and on that night at the nightclub he witnessed the suspect slap his sister and it doesn’t seem right in the eyes of a brother to witness such a thing.”

The affidavit also stated that it was revealed that the matter has been ongoing for a whole week since the suspect returned from Samoa.

The authorities were also able to speak with the main witness who lives together with the suspect and the victim. The main witness was also present during some of the times that the said domestic abuse had been going on.

According to the main witness, she had witnessed most of the times that the suspect allegedly assaulted the victim at the house and she was afraid to say anything about it. She explained that there were times when the victim would come up to her and tell her that the suspect beat her up, but it was hard for her (victim) to say anything to her uncle.

According to the affidavit, the victim told the witness that she was scared because she does know what the suspect would do to her when they’re alone at home and that’s why she kept her silence.

The main witness further stated that she witnessed the other morning when the suspect punched the victim in the face while she was standing next to him. Moreover, there were other times that she would hear yelling and banging from inside their room, but she would put on air pods to avoid what was going on.

She added that there was a time when the victim found out that the suspect was cheating on her, and the victim refused to make up with the suspect after asking for forgiveness. As a result, the suspect beat up the victim until she gave him a second chance.

On October 26, 2025, the witness stated the victim woke her up and told her she was scared of the suspect. The witness approached the suspect and asked if the victim could sleep with her, and he replied “no”. The victim refused to go in the room after which the suspect then punched the victim in the face with a closed fist, in her presence.

On the same day at around 3:00 p.m., the main witness explained they went to wash their laundry with the couple where they had a disagreement. The situation escalated to the point where the suspect chased the victim in the laundromat and hit her in the face.

On October 27, 2024, at about 3:22 a.m, the suspect was Mirandized and agreed to make a statement and answer questions.

According to the suspect, he stated that he did not slap the victim at the nightclub. He said that he just touched her on her cheeks and was playing around with her. He further stated that he did not assault the victim.

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

The officers also interviewed the victim where she refused to talk about what happened between her and the suspect. The officers also observed the victim’s demeanor changed towards her family — as if they were against her.

Officers spoke with the victim’s uncle where he asked if the victim could be released to go home and stated that she will not try to cause a scene after what happened.

According to the uncle, during the disturbance, the victim did not seem like she knew he was her uncle. He stated he tried to calm the victim down but she did not listen to him. He also told the officers that the victim will not agree with the police confining her boyfriend and that she would probably cause a scene at home.

The victim’s uncle was then advised by the authorities that the victim will be confined to prevent anything else from happening and for disturbing the peace within their family.

Later that morning, the victim was also booked and confined at the TCF until her court appearance.