The shooting death of a 25-year-old 'Ewa woman Tuesday was the third domestic violence slaying this year in Hawai'i.

In 2008, the number of people in the Islands killed at the hands of an intimate partner shot up to nine — the highest total in more than a decade. The total compares with six deaths in 2006 and 2007 and four in 2005.

"We cannot pretend we have solved the problem of domestic violence," said Nanci Kreidman, chief executive officer for the Domestic Violence Action Center. "These ugly fatalities send a shiver down my spine."

Advocates have no explanation for last year's increase in domestic violence homicides, though they say a number of factors — including worries over the economy -could be playing a role.

The fatal shooting yesterday of Royal K. Kaukani comes two weeks after a 50-year-old Kaua'i woman was stabbed to death in Lihu'e, allegedly by her husband. The first domestic violence death of the year was on Maui, when a Kahului woman allegedly stabbed her boyfriend during an argument.

The shooting Tuesday occurred about 2:30 p.m., as Kaukani sat in her black Hummer sport utility vehicle near her home on Kaukolu Way. Witnesses said the gunman ran up to the vehicle, fired several times, then fled on a motorcycle.

Kaukani was initially taken to Hawaii Medical Center West in critical condition, and later transferred to The Queen's Medical Center. She was pronounced dead at 9:30 p.m. An autopsy yesterday found she died from a gunshot wound to the head, the city Medical Examiner said.

After the shooting, police arrested Kaukani's ex-boyfriend, 31-year-old Toi Albert Nofoa, at a home in Waimanalo. Police said he was arrested on a bench warrant stemming from an incident in September involving Kaukani, in which he allegedly threatened and kidnapped her at gunpoint.

That warrant was issued March 5, after Nofoa failed to make a scheduled court appearance. Police spokeswoman Michelle Yu said officers have been searching for Nofoa over the past few weeks in "areas he was known to frequent." They had also issued a CrimeStoppers bulletin.

Nofoa has not been charged in Kaukani's shooting.

HISTORY OF ABUSE

Police records and court documents show Kaukani had claimed a history of abuse by Nofoa, with whom she had lived with at one point. Kaukani twice last year filed temporary restraining order petitions against Nofoa, alleging violent attacks dating back to 2006. And, as recently as March 4, Kaukani called police to complain Nofoa was threatening her.

In the petitions filed in June and again in September 2008, Kaukani said Nofoa had repeatedly threatened to kill her.

In the September petition, Kaukani alleges that Nofoa kidnapped her at gunpoint after meeting her in the parking lot as she left her job at the Ko Olina Marriott. According to police, Kaukani had just finished work at 7:15 p.m. on Sept. 11 when Nofoa approached her.

Kaukani told police that Nofoa was nice and offered to walk her to her car. But when they got close to the car, she told police, Nofoa grabbed her and "said he would end this and shoot her." Nofoa then allegedly pulled out a handgun and shoved it into Kaukani's neck, telling her to get into his car.

Police said Kaukani told them that Nofoa drove fast to the North Shore and repeatedly told her that he was "going to end her life and his, too." About 8:55 p.m., Nofoa stopped at a gas station in Hale'iwa to buy alcohol, and Kaukani was able to flee and get help from a gas station employee.

"He came to my job at Ko Olina, forced me with a gun to listen to him," Kaukani said, in the petition describing the Sept. 11 incident. "The whole time he was saying, 'I'm going to shoot you, then shoot myself.' "

In the restraining order petitions, Kaukani also alleged other violent attacks by Nofoa, including one in 2006, when she said he threw her down a flight of stairs, and another in June 2008, when she said he punched her repeatedly and threw her across a room, giving her a bloody nose.

In December 2008, the court granted Kaukani's request for a restraining order against Nofoa, telling him not to have any contact with Kaukani.

A month later, Kaukani asked the court to dissolve the order, saying the two had gotten back together and were planning on getting married and moving away.

"We are on excellent terms," she said in the request, which the court denied.

A 'BAD ANGER PROBLEM'

In documents released yesterday, police also said Nofoa had assaulted Kaukani on Feb. 8, at his brother's home in 'Aiea. Nofoa allegedly choked Kaukani until she was unconscious and cut her with a knife.

After the alleged attack, police issued a CrimeStoppers bulletin for Nofoa. But he was able to avoid police until Tuesday.

Another woman also filed a petition for a temporary restraining order against Nofoa in August 2006.

Loralei Evans, who has a child with Nofoa, alleged in the petition that Nofoa assaulted her several times from 2004 to 2006. At the time of the filing, the couple's child was 3 years old. Evans said she feared for her and her child's safety.

"He has a bad anger problem," Evans said of Nofoa in the petition.

Court records show Nofoa was found guilty of consuming liquor in public on Jan. 17, 2006, and fined $50.

Carol Lee, executive director of the Hawai'i State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said the Kaukani case shows how hard intimate-partner violence is to predict and stop. She said such cases are especially difficult in the Islands, where communities are small and families know each other.

"It's particularly challenging here to provide a woman with long-term safety," she said. "It may not be safe for her to remain in Hawai'i in some cases or to remain on the same island. There are no easy answers."

Kreidman, of the Domestic Violence Action Center, said domestic violence programs are bracing for cuts in state funding because of the economic crisis and shrinking state budget.

"There's a whole lot of concern about the safety net," she said.

The Kaukani shooting is the first domestic violence on O'ahu this year. Earlier this month, Kaua'i police charged Lihu'e resident Joseph Hoapili Sr., 50, with fatally stabbing his wife, 53-year-old Fredlynn Hoapili. An autopsy showed Hoapili died of 14 stab wounds to her chest, which damaged her heart and lungs. The attack was witnessed by Hoapili's son.

The first domestic violence slaying of the year was on Jan. 5, when Rachael Berta, 23, allegedly stabbed her boyfriend in the abdomen. The stab severed a main artery, killing 33-year-old John Shaniyo.