Navy family killings give rise to questions
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
The head of a civilian agency that assists victims of family violence and a local Muslim leader are questioning whether the Navy took all the precautions it could to prevent the murders of two Singaporean women at naval housing near Pearl Harbor.
The issue of what steps were taken by commanders to enforce a state court restraining order against Hull Technician Second Class David A. DeArmond, accused of killing his wife, Zaleha, and her mother, Saniah B. Abdul Ghani, was raised at a June 18 meeting of Navy officials with the executive director of the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse, a representative of the Muslim Association of Hawai'i and a relative of the dead women, who were Muslims. The meeting was held 10 days after the slayings.
Nanci Kreidman, of the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse, said the Navy was aware that DeArmond had two restraining orders placed against him and that the latest, issued May 16, was still in effect when the women were killed.
DeArmond could be sentenced to death or life in prison if convicted by a military court of killing his wife and mother-in-law.
"I think it's apparent to all of us that more could have been done," said Kreidman, who feels that the sailor's commanders should have been monitoring him more closely.
Lt. Cmdr. Jane Campbell, Navy Region Hawai'i spokeswoman, confirmed that DeArmond requested and was granted permission on May 1 to move into the barracks because of marital problems at home.
The request was made two days before the Family Court granted his wife a temporary restraining order. When his commanding officer received a copy of the court order, he discussed it with DeArmond, Campbell said.
A ranking noncommissioned officer reviewed the temporary restraining order with DeArmond and the sailor was ordered to report to the Family Advocacy Program at Pearl Harbor's Fleet and Family Support Center for assessment, according to Campbell.
A Marine Corps commander's guide for implementing the Family Advocacy Program, which also applies to the Navy here, outlines the responsibilities of commanding officers for cases of family violence. The responsibilities include giving a high priority to the safety of a victim of family violence by following procedures for intervention, reporting and case review.
There was no reason to confine DeArmond to barracks, according to Campbell, who said: "Even if a TRO is issued, it is not a (criminal) charge so they would not have a restriction."
The Family Court amended its May 3 order on May 16, granting DeArmond visitation with his children and limited contact with his wife.
Acting on the advice of military attorneys, Campbell declined comment on anything pertaining to the DeArmond case beyond May 22 because of the pending pretrial and court-martial hearings.
At the June 18 meeting, however, Kreidman said she was told that DeArmond checked himself out of the barracks around June 3. Rashid Abdullah of the Muslim Association of Hawai'i, who also attended the meeting, said DeArmond returned home at some point and reconciled with his wife.
"Our question (at the meeting) was how come, with knowledge that he had choked his wife previously, did they not pay more attention to the man (after he checked out of the barracks)?" Abdullah said.
There's no way to prevent homicides or predict which ones will occur from domestic-violence cases, Kreidman said. "So we can't take a chance by not being able to provide some controls and scrutiny," she said. "The best thing that can happen is to look at this case and figure out what, if anything, can be done to prevent this from happening again."
