The woman accused of murdering former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s aunt is a well-known Samoan author, acclaimed playwright and close friend of the alleged victim.
Papalii Sia Figiel, 57, is currently in police custody after allegedly taking a hammer and a knife to Dr. Caroline Sinaivaiana Gabbard, a poet, former university professor and aunt of President Trump’s vice presidential candidate and former Hawaii Democratic Congresswoman.
Sinaviaiana Gabbard, 78, was found dead on May 25 at Figiel’s Vaivase Uta home. Local news coverage.
She was beaten with a hammer and stabbed multiple times, reportedly following an argument between two women at the house, which also doubles as the Garmoana Theatre, a local community theatre.
Figiel is said to have fled to a friend’s house after the vicious attack and later handed himself in to police.
She was initially charged with manslaughter, but the charge was later upgraded to murder.
Local media reported that the two were close friends and were involved in the literary world, with Sinaviaiana-Gabbard reportedly serving as Figiel’s mentor.
Samoa Police Commissioner Auapaau Logoitino Filipo said investigators have yet to determine why Sinaivaiana Gabbard was killed.
“The motive for the crime is unknown but the incident reportedly occurred on Saturday when the suspect left the victim at his home while he went to Lotofaga to be with friends,” Filipo added.
Figiel attended school in her native Samoa and in New Zealand, beginning a Bachelor of Arts in New Zealand and later completing that degree at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington.
According to her online author profile, her poetry won first prize in the Polynesian Literature Contest in 1994, and her debut novel, “Where We Once Belonged,” won the Commonwealth Writers Award for Best Debut in the Southeast Asia/South Pacific region in 1997.
She has published two books of prose poetry, Girl in the Moon Circle in 1996 and Contemplation in 1998. She regularly performs poetry at literary festivals, and her work has been translated into numerous foreign languages.
Ms. Figuiel has been an intern at the Institute of Catalan Literature in Spain, the Pacific Writing Forum at the University of the South Pacific, the University of Technology Sydney, and the East-West Center and Pacific Islands Studies Center at the University of Hawaii.
Sinaivaiana Gabbard taught creative writing at the University of Hawaii for nearly 20 years and was an associate professor of Pacific literature at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Samoa News.
In 2003, Figiel learned she had type 2 diabetes, the same disease that had killed both her parents.
Although she initially hid her diagnosis from the public because she didn’t want to appear weak, she later became a vocal advocate for people battling chronic illnesses.
Details about Figiel’s relationship with Sinaviaiana Gabbard have yet to be released.
A friend of the slain professor told the Samoa Observer that she was a good writer and supported other writers.
“[She was] “She should never have died like that. Despite being a literary giant, she was a very introverted person,” the friend said.
Figiel’s next court appearance is scheduled for later this month.
