Murdered woman feared husband, friends report
By Christie Wilson
Neighbor Island Editor
Cathalene Pacheco was a woman whose love of family and community touched many people.
But friends said she also was a woman who lived in fear of an abusive husband, a veteran police officer now charged with her murder.
Cathalene Pacheco had already moved away from her husband, Albert, when she was shot and killed Friday night.
The 42-year-old already had moved in with a friend when — according to police — Albert Pacheco rammed her van with his county-subsidized police car, then shot her several times in the head Friday night near their Waikoloa Village home.
Deputy Prosecutor Michael Udovic said there was evidence Pacheco, 45, had been stalking his wife.
The detective in the Hawai'i County Police Department's Criminal Investigation Section in Kona pleaded not guilty Monday to second-degree murder, first-degree criminal property damage, first-degree terroristic threatening and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. He remains at the Hawai'i Community Correctional Center after attempting to kill himself while in police custody Saturday.
Donations may be sent to Clark Realty Corp., 75-5722 Kuakini Highway, Suite 104C, Kailua-Kona 96740.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled this afternoon in Waimea District Court.
Clark Realty has established the Cathalene Ann Pacheco Memorial Fund to benefit the couple's five children.
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The Domestic Violence Clearing House & Legal Hotline can be reached at 534-0040; on the Neighbor Islands, call (800) 690-6200.
Udovic said he would seek a sentence of life in prison without parole if Pacheco is convicted.
Pacheco was off-duty at the time of shooting. He has been with the Big Island Police Department for 11 years and was a Honolulu police officer for 10 years before that.
Hawai'i County police officials said the slaying resulted from marital problems. Officials said Pacheco had never been arrested for domestic abuse, and there had been no calls for assistance from the Pacheco home.
An O'ahu woman who met the Pachecos in the late 1980s through Hope Chapel in Kahalu'u said she was a family friend who used to baby-sit their three eldest daughters. Jenny Kahele said Cathalene Pacheco had told her and others that she was afraid of her husband, that he had hit her and threatened her with physical harm.
Women in the church tried to persuade her to seek a restraining order against her husband, Kahele said, but Pacheco told her friends she was afraid because he was a police officer and she didn't want to anger him further.
"She was a wonderful, wonderful woman, so full of love. I didn't think they'd stay married this long, because of the way he treated her," Kahele said.
Kahele agreed to talk about the Pachecos, she said, in the hope that other women with information would come forward, "for Cathy."
Cathalene Pacheco's co-workers at Clark Realty Corp., where she was a sales associate, declined to comment on her relationship with her husband.
Tim Wright • Special to The Advertiser
An advocate with the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse & Legal Hotline in Honolulu said most women murdered in abusive relationships are killed when they leave.
A detective at the Hilo police station examines the minivan in which Cathalene Pacheco was shot and killed.
"Domestic violence is about power and control, and the act of leaving is the ultimate act of having lost control. That's when (the abuser) resorts to the ultimate act as well," said advocate Joene Graven.
It is not unusual for women to stay in abusive relationships for years, she said, and some have good reasons for staying.
"It could be that if she leaves, she will die," Graven said.
Since many abusers isolate their victims, the women might lack the financial resources or support system to help them leave, or they might be afraid of losing custody of their children, or feel bound by their religious faith to stay in the relationship no matter what.
Graven noted that there are many agencies and services available to help women escape an abusive partner, and that many women are able to leave such relationships.
She advised those who know someone in an abusive relationship not to abandon a woman who says she does not want help. "Stay her friend, stay in touch, and when she is ready, you're there. Always be there and let her know that."
Graven also said it is common for people not to know about abuse taking place between a couple they know well.
"Domestic violence is usually between two people in the privacy of their home," she said.
A funeral for Cathalene Pacheco, nee Uzzel, a 1977 graduate of Waipahu High School, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Solid Rock Ministries in the Kaloko Industrial Park near Kona International Airport.
Contact Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
