South Kohala mourns slain woman
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor
Cathalene Pacheco's violent death stunned many in the South Kohala community, who are rallying to see that her five children will receive financial and emotional support now that their mother is dead and their father, a Hawai'i County police officer, is charged with her murder.
Photo courtesy Clark Realty
Albert Pacheco, 45, is accused of ramming his wife's van with his county-subsidized police car and shooting her several times in the head Friday night near their Lina Poepoe Street home in Waikoloa Village. He was arrested at the scene shortly afterward.
Cathalene Ann Pacheco, top, surrounded by her children and granddaughter, gives the shaka sign in this family photo. Pacheco's husband, Albert, has been charged with her murder.
At his arraignment yesterday, Pacheco, a detective in the Hawai'i County Police Department's Criminal Investigation Section in Kona, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, first-degree criminal property damage, first-degree terroristic threatening and using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Hilo District Judge Jeffrey Choi ordered that Pacheco continue to be held without bail at the Hawai'i Community Correctional Center.
The judge scheduled a preliminary hearing for 1 p.m. tomorrow in Waimea District Court.
Deputy Prosecutor Michael Udovic said yesterday that the murder charge involves "particularly heinous and atrocious" circumstances, and that he will seek a sentence of life imprisonment without parole if Pacheco is convicted.
Deputy Public Defender Martin Dento declined to comment yesterday.
Udovic said authorities are uncertain at this point of the events that led to the slaying of Cathalene Pacheco, a real estate agent and mother of five children ranging in age from 4 to 23, but there are indications her husband was pursuing her in his car immediately before the shooting.
Albert Pacheco was off-duty at the time of the shooting. He joined the Hawai'i County Police Department in January 1991, after 10 years with the Honolulu police force. Pacheco was assigned to the South Kohala Patrol District before his promotion in May 1999 to detective sergeant in the Kona Criminal Investigation Section.
Police said the slaying was a result of marital problems, but would not elaborate.
Pastor James Texeira of Solid Rock Ministries, which counted the Pachecos among its 900 members, called the tragedy "a total shock ... something that wasn't expected."
"There were no signs of trouble, no more than with any other married couple," he said.
Texeira said the family joined the church more than two years ago, and Cathalene Pacheco was active in the church's nonprofit Community Development Corp. that ran vocational training and transitional housing programs. He said she was working on establishing a church-run charter school.
"She always liked to help people. I think that's what motivated her. One of the reasons she got into real estate is that she wanted to help people get homes. She helped a lot people in our church get homes," Texeira said.
"She was a people person, she loved people. We lost somebody who was a big asset to our church and our community."
Pacheco, a graduate of Waipahu High School, was a newly licensed Realtor when she joined Clark Realty Co. as a sales associate in 2000.Ê
Larry Hull, broker in charge of the company's Kona office, said the firm was her first real job outside the home. Before that, she had devoted herself to home schooling her children, he said.
Pacheco quickly made a name for herself and became a favorite among her co-workers, Hull said.
"One of the things she really worked on was helping first-time buyers buy a home," he said. "She was a fine Christian woman with a strong belief in God and also the importance of her family."
"Our office is completely devastated," he said.
The company donated $3,000 to start a memorial fund to benefit Pacheco's children: Shannon Caceres, 23, who has two children of her own; Naomi, 17; Rebecca, 16; Kaleb, 6; and Josiah, 4.
Hull said Pacheco's oldest daughter and her daughter's husband are determined to keep the family together and have taken in the younger siblings.
"We really want to support this young couple who want to take on this tremendous responsibility," Hull said. "The characteristics that were so very special in Cathalene are evident in Shannon."
The Pachecos recently purchased a home in the middle-, upper-income Waikolola Village subdivision, and had bought a home for their oldest daughter, who lives only a block away.
Friends said one of Pacheco's newfound passions was canoe paddling. She took up the sport last summer at the urging of a friend and paddled for a novice women's crew at Waikoloa Canoe Club.
Women's coach Heidi Hemmings said other club members often went to Pacheco with their problems and to ask for her prayers. In fact, it was through Pacheco that Hemmings began attending services at Solid Rock Ministries.
"She was a fine person, a really fine person. Everyone who knew her will feel her loss for a long time," Hemmings said. "She was a remarkable woman. That's why this is so perplexing and so devastating."
"She was a coach's dream. She always did what you said, always had a smile, never complained and worked hard. You couldn't help but feel good around Cathy. She would light up her smile and no matter what kind of day you were having, you felt wonderful."
Hemmings said Pacheco became so enthralled with paddling that she continued to work out in the off-season with a club based in Kawaihae and had dreams of crossing the Moloka'i Channel.
Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
Monetary gifts to the Cathalene Ann Pacheco Memorial Fund may be sent to Clark Realty Corp., 75-5722 Kuakini Hwy., Suite 104C, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740. For more information, call (808) 326-9774.
Contact Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
