In Samoa, a writer named Papalii Sia Figiel has been accused of killing another well-known Samoan writer, Caroline Sinavaiana-Gabbard, who was also the aunt of former U.S. congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. Authorities in Samoa said the incident happened after an argument last month. Both women were respected figures in the Pacific literary community, and Sinavaiana-Gabbard’s family has ties to U.S. politics.
Figiel is currently in custody and is set to appear in court next week. She has not yet entered a plea to the charge of murder. According to police, Figiel does not have a lawyer yet and could not be reached for comment.
Sinavaiana-Gabbard, known for her poetry and environmental work, made history in 2013 as the first person of Samoan descent to become a full professor at a U.S. university, where she taught until her retirement in 2016 at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
According to Samoa’s deputy police commissioner Papalii Monalisa Tiai-Keti, Sinavaiana-Gabbard and Figiel had been friends for 30 years. The argument between them on the day of the incident led to Sinavaiana-Gabbard’s death, Tiai-Keti stated. Her body was found at Figiel’s home in Apia, Samoa’s capital, two days later, after Figiel reported the death to the police.
Water gushes out of broken water line (Via Jeff Clark/Shutterstock)
Tiai-Keti mentioned that Sinavaiana-Gabbard confided in a family member about the incident before it was reported to the police. The exact cause of her death has not been confirmed, and a forensic pathologist from Fiji is expected to conduct an autopsy in Apia later this month.
Tulsi Gabbard, who served as a congresswoman from Hawaii, expressed her grief on Instagram, recalling how her aunt had inspired her writing since childhood when she stayed at her aunt’s cottage in Manoa. She described Sinavaiana-Gabbard’s death as shocking to their family.
Gabbard, who left the Democratic party in 2022 and recently expressed interest in running as Republican Donald Trump’s vice president in the upcoming presidential election, mourned her aunt’s passing and highlighted her significant influence on her life.
