Caroline Sinaviana-Gabbard, aunt of former Hawaii representative Tulsi Gabbard, allegedly murdered by famous author Papalii Sia Figiel

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 inside 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 doubles as a local community theater called Teatro GaluMoana, 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 surrendered to police.

Figiel, 57, was initially arrested for involuntary manslaughter last Sunday, but her charges were upgraded to murder after an investigation.

“It is alleged that a hammer and a small knife were used which inflicted multiple stab wounds on the deceased,” Smoa Police Commissioner Auapaau Logoitino Filipo said, according to Somoanews.com.

“We do not know what the motive of the crime is, but according to reports, the incident occurred on Saturday and the suspect left the deceased at her house while she went out to Lotofaga and spent time with a friend,” Filipo added.

Sinavaiana-Gabbard, a former professor at the University of Hawaii at Honolulu, was the older sister of Hawaii state Sen. Mike Gabbard, Tulsi’s father.

Mike Gabbard said he was very close to his sister growing up and was 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 years. She got me hooked on 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 taught high school English and was a faculty member. orientation. Advisor and dean of the community college for many years.

“I love her deeply and wish her the best as she continues her journey.”

Mike Gabbard went on to say that he forgives the person responsible for his death, but hopes that justice is served and that the person “is punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

Sinavaiana-Gabbard taught creative writing and Pacific literature during her 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 in Hawaii’s 2nd 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 turned down an offer to serve as independent presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy’s running mate.

Figiel’s work is published in New Zealand and won the award for Best First Book in the South East Asia and South Pacific region of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in 1997.

After her arrest, Figiel was transferred from Tanumalala Prison to the National Hospital in Motootua, where she was placed on 24-hour suicide watch, a close friend told KHJ News.

Figiel is expected to appear before Samoa’s Supreme Court on June 10.

With post cables