HALAWA HEIGHTS — Marissa Dumlao excelled at sewing intricate orchid lei that she sold at a stand at Honolulu International Airport.

Her husband, Eliseo Dumlao, worked part time at Tripler Army Medical Center.

He and Marissa had recently married, and they had just moved in to their apartment complex on Halawa Heights Road in March.

On Monday, the couple died as a result of a murder-suicide, police said.

The Honolulu Medical Examiner's Office said the woman died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head and classified her death as a homicide. The man also died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head, but the manner of death was ruled a suicide.

Although authorities have not released their identity, Garton Mau, landlord at the complex, yesterday said they are Eliseo and Marissa Dumlao.

"All I know is he was a really nice man," Mau said. "He kept to himself and was a quiet person, simple."

The couple was found shot to death in bed on Monday night, a small-caliber pistol nearby. Officers responded after a dropped 911 call came from the apartment at 6:39 p.m.

No one answered the door when officers arrived at their apartment, so they broke in through a rear bedroom window. The complex is at 99-801 Halawa Heights Road.

Marissa Dumlao, 45, "was a hard worker and a good worker," said Aurora Doble at Maile's Lei Stand at the airport, where Marissa Dumlao worked since October. "I lost a good worker."

Doble said she spoke yesterday to the couple's daughter, who is 18 and was not at home at the time of the shooting.

"I told (the daughter) to be strong," Doble said. "It's hard to be alone. Everything she made was perfect. It is so sad."

Doble said Marissa Dumlao has an extended family here, in California and in Canada.

Kevin Downey, Tripler Army Medical Center spokesman, said that Eliseo Dumlao, 60, worked part time in the nutritional care unit of the hospital.

The Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence declined to comment specifically on Monday's tragedy but said it follows three domestic violence-related murders this year in Hawai'i.

The cases include the April 25 murder-suicide in which police say Domingo "Bunny" Dikito shot and killed his wife, Della, at their 'Ewa Beach home before turning the gun on himself. On Jan. 16, Alapeti S. Tunoa Jr. allegedly bludgeoned his former girlfriend, Janel Tupuola, to death in the middle of a Kailua street.

On Jan. 9, Jenny T. Hartsock was fatally stabbed by her husband, Roy William Hartsock, according to police.

"Certainly it's a problem that we have faced for many, many years," said Ana Maring, domestic violence educator with the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. "We believe domestic violence in general is a power and control issue. It's not about anger or stress; it's really about one person seeking to have power over their partner. And if there is a domestic violence-related murder, frequently we see that as the ultimate act of power and control."

In addition to calling 911, people needing help in a domestic-violence situation may contact the Domestic Violence Action Center hot line at 531-3771 or the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence at 832-9316 or www.hscadv.org.