Sia Figiel, award-winning author, accused in murder of Tulsi Gabbard’s aunt

An award-winning Samoan author and playwright is accused in the murder of the aunt of former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, authorities said Sunday.

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Sia Figiel, 57, was charged in the death of 78-year-old Caroline Sinavaiana-Gabbard, Hawaii News Now reported. Sinavaiana-Gabbard was a professor of English at the University of Hawaii and was the first Samoan to become a full professor in the United States, according to the television station.

Sinavaiana-Gabbard was the aunt of Tulsi Gabbard, who served as a Democratic representative from Hawaii from 2013 to 2021. Gabbard, 43, was the first Samoan-American to become a voting member of Congress.

Sinavaiana-Gabbard’s death occurred on May 25 at Figiel’s home in the village of Vaivase-Uta, located about three miles from Samoa’s capital city of Apia, The New Zealand Herald reported. Figiel’s property also doubles as the local theater, according to the newspaper.

Figiel was originally charged with manslaughter, but police upgraded the charge after discovering evidence that included a hammer and a small knife, Hawaii News Now reported. A motive is still under investigation.

Samoan Police Commissioner Auapaau Logoitino Filipo told the Herald that the victim suffered multiple stab wounds. He added that a motive for the stabbing was unclear, but referenced an alleged argument that had broken out between the two women before the incident.

Sinavaiana-Gabbard was reportedly Figiel’s mentor, according to several media outlets.

Figiel is a prominent author in the Pacific basin and in New Zealand, according to the newspaper.

Her first novel, “Where We Once Belonged,” won the 1997 Asia/Pacific Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for fiction, the Herald reported.

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