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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted at 8:38 p.m., Monday, June 9, 2003

Sailor gets 22 years for double murder

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Staff Writer

A military panel tonight sentenced a Navy man who admitted killing his wife and mother-in-law to 22 1/2 years in prison.

Petty Officer 2nd Class David DeArmond, 32, pleaded guilty last month to killing his wife, Zaleha DeArmond, 31, and her mother, Saniah Binte Abdul Ghani, 66, in the couple's Navy home on June 10, 2002.

DeArmond will be credited for one year already served.

Earlier today, the defense lawyer urged the panel to sentence DeArmond to 15 years.

DeArmond was abused as a child by his stepmother and was a model soldier who "was pushed over the edge" by a cheating wife who wanted to leave him and take their three children to Singapore, his defense counsel Marine Lt. Col. Peter Delorier said.

But prosecutors asked for a life term for DeArmond, describing him as a vengeful husband who was under a temporary restraining order, yet still killed the two women. Prosecutor Lt. Cmdr. James Lucci said DeArmond had a pattern of abuse, threatening his first wife by putting his hands to her throat and killing his second.

After hearing the arguments in a military courtroom at Pearl Harbor, the panel of six enlisted people and three officers began deliberations to decide DeArmond's sentence. Under a plea agreement, DeArmond's sentence was limited to not more than 30 years.

DeArmond pleaded guilty to charges of murder, voluntary manslaughter and abuse of a corpse in exchange for prosecutors dropping charges of premeditated murder, which could have resulted in the death penalty.

At a pretrial hearing last month, DeArmond testified he hit his wife with a skillet during a fight. He also testified that his mother-in-law tried to intervene and swung a steak knife at him, but he took it away and stabbed her. According to a medical examiner, five of Ghani's 13 stab wounds were potentially fatal.

Zaleha DeArmond's brother, Ahmed Kasti, of Singapore, left the courtroom today after hearing the defense request a 15-year sentence. "It's a farce," said Kasti, outside the courtroom. "If I can kill two persons and (the defense) is only asking for 15 years, I can kill anybody. It's unbelievable."

Kasti is seeking custody of the couple's three young children — ages 2 to 5 at the time of the killings — who remain in foster care. David DeArmond's identical twin brother, Donald, is also seeking custody. He declined to comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.