A U.S. Marine stabbed his wife to death on the side of a Hawaii freeway, as witnesses tried to stop him and save the victim’s life, say cops in Honolulu, Hawaii. Police identified the couple as Bryant Tejada-Castillo, 29, and Dana Alotaibi, 27, according to KITV. Husband Tejada-Castillo is charged with second-degree murder. Alotaibi previously accused him on social media of subjecting her to prolific physical abuse. Her mother Natalia Cespedes told the outlet Alotaibi was three-months pregnant.
Before identifying them, cops said the incident happened Wednesday. At approximately, 6:18 p.m., witnesses saw a man stabbing a woman multiple times with a knife, said Honolulu police Lt. Deena Thoemmes.
Those bystanders intervened, pulling over and trying to restrain him, Thoemmes said. They tried to help save the woman. The man fled into nearby brush area. Responding officers were pointed to his location and were able to catch him, the lieutenant said.
“I do want to take this time to thank the public for their assistance and willingness to intervene as the situation unfolded,” Thoemmes said. “Their efforts were instrumental in the apprehension and arrest of the suspect.”
The man at one point allegedly hurt himself with the knife.
The woman–Alotaibi–was pronounced dead at the hospital at approximately 8:31 p.m. on Wednesday.
Thoemmes said the investigation is ongoing, but that officers were looking into past cases of domestic violence, both reported and unreported. She also noted social media posts that they were made aware of.
Though law enforcement did not describe those posts in detail, Alotaibi had a YouTube channel. In a Jan. 1 video, she tearfully said that Tejada-Castillo was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive.
“And I’ve had maybe like 30 situations of him putting his hands on me, and every time I report it to his command or his higher ups, nothing is being done,” she said. “Nothing at all. It does not matter if there’s witnesses, if other people have called the police and told them what happened. Nothing is ever being done.”
She described him hitting her. She described him slapping her in one incident 30 times until her face was throbbing. He choked her unconscious four or five times, she said. He would take the phone if she said she’d call the police, and he choked her if she said she was going to call his command, she said.
And when she did reach authorities, she said, nothing happened to him.
“What can I do?” she said. “Why is he so untouchable?”
Tejeda-Castillo filed for divorce in November, according to KITV. It was uncontested and granted last month. Police have described them as a married couple. Media reports have described the couple as estranged.
“There were multiple instances where the Military Police at MCBH and Honolulu Police Department responded to domestic disputes both on MCBH and off base,” the Marines said in a statement to Law&Crime. “Immediately following these reported instances, the command referred the Marine and his spouse to the Family Advocacy Program (FAP) for counselling and support. The command also issued no contact orders prohibiting Sgt. Tejedacastillo from contacting Ms. Alotaibi in any manner outside of supervised FAP services. The Marine’s command remained engaged with both the subject and the victim, responding to all reported allegations from Ms. Alotaibi. In addition to prohibiting Sgt. Tejedacastillo from contacting his estranged wife, the command also disciplined the Marine in March 2022, for violating those orders and for communicating a non-violent threat to Ms. Alotaibi.”
“The Marine Corps is aware of a tragic incident that occurred yesterday evening (July 20, 2022) allegedly involving a US Marine currently assigned to the 3rd Littoral Combat Team,” Marine Corps Base Hawaii told KITV before Tejada-Castillo was charged with second-degree murder. “Our understanding is that the Marine is currently in the custody of the Honolulu Police Department as their investigation continues, but has not been formally charged. The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment and Marine Corps Base Hawaii will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement officials as the details surrounding this incident unfold. The Marine Corps extends its deepest sympathies to the family and friends of those involved.”
Note (07/24/2022): We added a statement from the Marines.
Note (07/26/2022): A GoFundMe campaign to support the family raised $10,432 of a $15,000 goal as of July 26, 2022.
[Screenshot of Alotaibi via her YouTube page]