The aunt of former Hawaiian Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard was stabbed multiple times and beaten with a hammer during a fight with her protégé in Samoa last month, according to a report.
Dr. Caroline Sinaviana-Gabbard, 78, was found dead on May 25 at the home of award-winning Samoan playwright Papalii Sia Figiel in Vaivase-Uta, according to Spectrum News.
The two women were reportedly alone inside Figiel’s home, which also serves as the community’s local theater, GaluMoana Theater, when the deadly confrontation took place.
Sinaviana-Gabbard is believed to have been Figiel’s mentor.
Figiel reportedly fled to a friend’s house after the brutal attack and turned herself in to police.
Figiel, 57, was initially arrested for manslaughter last Sunday, but her charges were upgraded to murder following an investigation.
“A hammer was allegedly used as well as a small knife which allegedly inflicted multiple stab wounds on the deceased,” said Smoa Police Commissioner Auapaau Logoitino Filipo, according to Somoanews.com.
“We don’t know what the motive behind the offense is, but according to reports, the incident happened on Saturday and the suspect left the victim at her house while she went to Lotofaga and spent time with a friend,” added Filipo.
Sinavaiana-Gabbard, a former professor at the University of Hawaii at Honolulu, was the older sister of Hawaii State Senator Mike Gabbard, Tulsi’s father.
Mike Gabbard said he was very close to his sister growing up and proud of her accomplishments in life.
“Caroline was my best friend when I was a teenager,” Mike Gabbard said in a statement to Spectrum News.
“She helped me a lot during my rebellious teenage phase. She got me addicted to reading, so much so that I followed in her footsteps and majored in English at Sonoma State University in California, then returned to our birthplace, American Samoa, where I I taught English in high schools and was a member of the faculty, guidance. Community college advisor and dean for many years.
“I love her dearly and wish her well as she continues her journey.”
Mike Gabbard added that he forgives the person responsible for his death, but hopes that justice will be served and that the person “will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
Sinavaiana-Gabbard taught creative writing and Pacific literature for nearly two decades at the school.
Her family says she was the first Samoan to become a full professor in the United States and was an accomplished writer, teacher and environmental activist.
Tulsi Gabbard served four terms in Congress serving Hawaii’s Second District and was the first Samoan American to become a voting member of Congress.
In April, Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party in 2022, revealed that she had turned down an offer to become independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy’s running mate.
Figiel’s work is published in New Zealand and won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book in the Southeast Asia/South Pacific region in 1997.
After her arrest, Figiel was transferred from Tanumalala Prison to Motootua National Hospital where she was placed on 24-hour suicide watch, a close friend told KHJ News.
Figiel is expected to appear before the Supreme Court of Samoa on June 10.
With post wires