Sailor feared wife would take kids
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
Coworkers and supervisors testifying at a military investigative hearing said a sailor accused of murder feared his wife was planning to leave him and take his children.
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Hull Technician 2nd Class David A. DeArmond is accused of killing his wife, Zaleha, and mother-in-law, Saniah B. Abdul Ghani, June 10 in their home in the Hokulani subdivision near Pearl Harbor.
The bodies of Zaleha DeArmond, top, and her mother, Saniah Abdul Ghani, were found June 10 in the DeArmonds' Hokulani subdivision home near Pearl Harbor.
The hearing at the Pearl Harbor Courthouse resumes tomorrow and Tuesday.
Hull Technician First Class David W. Wilson, who has known DeArmond since 1999, testified on Friday that Zaleha DeArmond told him earlier this year that she was having an affair. Wilson said David DeArmond and his wife were arguing when he went to the house earlier in the year at the sailor's request.
Another witness, the DeArmonds' neighbor Petty Officer Steven Pitkin, testified Zaleha DeArmond came to his house late last year or in early January, along with her mother and three children, saying DeArmond had threatened to kill her.
Pitkin described Zaleha DeArmond as being hysterical, and quoted her as saying DeArmond had hit her with a clock.
Others who worked with DeArmond testified that he expressed concerns about what he described as his wife's drinking, her staying out all night, her control of his finances and her leaving him and taking his three young children to Singapore.
Friday's hearing lasted more than 10 hours. The prosecution is expected to present witnesses Monday.
The presiding investigating officer, Marine Maj. Michael Mori, will file a report to Adm. Robert T. Conway Jr., commander of Navy Region Hawai'i, on the investigation's findings. Conway will decide whether to convene a court martial.
In addition to two counts of murder, DeArmond is also charged with raping his wife and abusing her corpse, and impeding an investigation by destroying, moving and tampering with evidence.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
