Commentary
Murder-suicides in paradise
By Belinda A. Aquino
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:28:00 07/05/2008
HONOLULU — The latest murder-suicide in Hawaii, involving a Filipino woman, is giving this supposed island paradise a black eye. The Filipino community is extremely shocked and outraged. This is the sixth incident of domestic violence this year—which is only half over—in which Filipino women have been brutally murdered by their husbands. Last year two Filipinas were also killed by their estranged husbands.
The latest victim, Grineline James, 39, was found dead July 2 in her upscale home, along with the bodies of her husband Michael James, 39, and their son Michael Jr., 7. Grineline, a Filipina immigrant, taught English as a second language at Farrington High School where students are predominantly of Filipino ancestry.
Police evidence indicates Grineline was killed over the weekend and her son a few days later. The alleged killer, Michael Sr., who had left a suicide note in their mailbox, hanged himself, according to the police report. Neighbors were aghast, saying the Jameses were a happy family with no hint of domestic tension.
Three of these six violent domestic killings, including this latest one, have been murder-suicides, with the female victims all Filipinos. Since the year is barely over, it’s like one killing every month. “These are the highest numbers we’ve experienced in at least a decade,” notes Carol Lee, executive director of the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
The first Filipino murder-suicide happened on April 25, when Domingo “Bunny” Dikito, 39, shot and killed his wife Della, 38, at their home in Ewa, leaving behind four teenage children. Again, neighbors could not understand the killings as the couple showed no signs of domestic difficulties.
A month later, on May 26, another Filipino murder-suicide struck. Eliseo Dumlao, 60, a hospital worker, shot and killed his wife Marissa, 45, and then himself in their apartment. Luckily, Marissa’s daughter by a previous marriage was not in their house when the killing occurred.
Why this escalation of domestic violence in this paradise state? From 1996 through 2006, Hawaii averaged only nine domestic killings, according to the State Attorney General’s office. The peak was in 2000, when 15 homicides in the state were recorded.
Lee notes that the accelerated numbers this year indicates Hawaii is falling short in dealing effectively with domestic violence. “I don’t think there’s any explanation other than we just haven’t done enough to stop it, to intervene, to hold perpetrators accountable, to provide enough services for women to leave abusive relationships,” she adds. It is noted that much of the violence occurs when the woman decides to leave an abusive husband or partner, or has just left such relationship. In one of the killings, the husband-killer was reported to have said, “If I can’t have you, then nobody else can.” He then pulls out his gun and shoots his wife, then himself.
The thing is these were not impoverished or troubled couples, at least not on the outside. In fact, they were living in pricey homes in suburban neighborhoods. Nancy Kreidman, who heads the Domestic Violence Action Center in Honolulu, says that domestic violence knows no boundaries and can occur in any community, rich or poor. “These are very crucial reminders that this is happening to all of us,” she adds. “It underscores the importance of us continuing to invest and commit resources to ending violence. Otherwise, people get complacent.”
The Center notes that the majority of the victims of domestic abuse, at least 60 percent, are Filipino women and girls, both immigrant and local-born. Explanations have ranged from “cultural factors” like “Filipino males being possessive and prone to jealous rage” to “financial reasons,” such as the high cost of living and slowing economy in Hawaii. But these are all largely speculative, which may be incidental or irrelevant to the actual circumstances of the tragic murder-suicides.
One can argue that as a particular ethnic group grows in numbers in a community, the probability of violence also increases. But again this is a flawed explanation. Were that to be the case, California, for instance, which has more than one million Filipinos, would be having a killing every other week. But Hawaii, with fewer numbers (although the highest in the United States in percent of state population) having a killing every month, is just bizarre.
Obviously there are no definitive causes, and state and community institutions have to pay more attention to protect women in abusive or broken relationships. “We’re not just doing a good enough job,” Lee concludes, noting that in the whole year of 2007, there were six murders related to domestic violence. This year, there’s still six months left and there are already six such murders!
Part of the problem in American society particularly is that, it’s so hard to intervene in domestic affairs without risking violating individual or privacy rights. You can even lose your own life trying to prevent abuse from happening, as in another recent case in Hawaii where a man was killed trying to stop another man from hitting his wife.
This trend is not only alarming or disturbing. You never know when the dark side of human nature strikes. It’s simply scary to say the least.
Belinda A. Aquino is professor and director of the Center for Philippine Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
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