Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On January 12, 2026, a woman was arrested and taken into custody following an alleged domestic violence incident involving her husband at their residence in Kokoland.

The suspect was arrested and later charged with:

Count 1: Assault in the Third Degree (DV), a class A misdemeanor punishable by a term of imprisonment not more than a year, a fine not to exceed $1,000, 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 not more than $300, or both.

The defendant was held without bail.

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

According to the court affidavit, filed in District Court on Jan. 14th, at approximately 12:20 p.m., the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) received a call from a man reporting that he was being abused by his wife at their home in Kokoland.

Responding officers arrived in the Fagaima area in front of a store located across from the Fagaima Assembly of God Church, where they made contact with the reporting party. The man told officers that he and his wife had been in a heated argument which escalated into a physical altercation.

While officers were attempting to obtain his account of what had occurred, a woman came from behind the store and began shouting at him. Officers immediately separated the two individuals and escorted the woman to a safe distance away from the man.

The man informed officers that the argument began when he confronted his wife about “her going out late into the night on the street and not coming back home until early in the morning, while still claiming about wanting to be with her kids and taking care of them.”

He stated that the confrontation, which included his having a family friend move their kids into another room, caused his wife to become irritated and hostile toward him. The argument intensified leading to his wife allegedly assaulting him using a toy lightsaber and a charging cord, causing injuries to his head and arm.

The husband stated that he had a video of her assaulting him.

The victim said he instructed his wife to leave the residence because their children were inside the home at the time of the altercation. He stated that as she left the house, he followed her while also contacting police.

Police later escorted the woman to the TPS for further questioning, while other officers returned to the residence to continue their investigation and interview witnesses who had been present during the incident.

At the station, the wife (defendant) was Mirandized, which she stated she understood. She agreed to provide a statement regarding the events that led to the altercation.

According to the affidavit, the woman stated that the argument began over money that her sister, who is off-island, intended to send her for her to take her children to the movies, and for her anti depressant medication. She explained that she asked her husband if the money could be sent to his CashApp, to which he agreed.

She further explained that while getting ready to pull out the money, she took a shower, and when she came out of her shower, she saw her husband going through her belongings. She asked him why he was doing that, and that is when they started arguing. The woman told officers that her husband accused her of having an affair and used offensive language toward her because of her “long walks” in the evening.

The woman stated that she attempted to get her belongings back from her husband, but he “shrugged” her off. She said that she then went for her husband’s belongings and in response her husband threw his items onto a shelf where she could not reach them.

According to her statement, she grabbed a bench but her husband pushed her off the bench to prevent her from reaching “his stuff”.

Officers asked whether this was the point at which she assaulted her husband, and the woman did not directly answer.

She told police that after the argument she left the house, but her husband followed her outside. Attempting to call a friend, she said her husband yelled out that since was calling the police so would he.

Meanwhile, officers who returned to the residence interviewed witnesses who had been present during the incident.

One witness said that the husband repeatedly told the wife to leave the house, and that is when they got into an argument. He said that was when he moved the kids into another room and just let them continue to argue. He reported that the wife attempted to enter the room where the children were, but he stopped her.

The witness further stated that he advised the male victim to record everything that was happening “just to be safe.” He also told officers that the woman struck the victim with a charger cord and a toy lightsaber during the argument.

Another witness, who was one of the children in the household, stated that his parents were arguing inside the house, when they were led into another room during the argument and stated that he did not see his father assault his mother.

Officers reported observing visible injuries on the male victim, including red marks on his face and a long red mark across the front of his forearm. These injuries were documented as part of the investigation.

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

The defendant is identified as a 38-year old U.S citizen.

[Editor’s Note: An affidavit is a written statement confirmed by oath or affirmation for use as evidence in court. It is not a court decision. Under local law, defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty by the court. ra]