Honolulu police have arrested an active-duty Marine who is accused of stabbing and killing his estranged wife on a highway last week.
Police arrested 29-year-old Bryant Tejeda-Castillo on a second-degree murder charge for allegedly killing 27-year-old Dana Alotaibi, according to multiple reports.
Lt. Deena Thoemmes said during a Thursday press conference that witnesses saw a man standing over a woman and stabbing her multiple times on the H-3 freeway.
The witnesses pulled over to both stop the man and assist the woman, according to Lt. Thoemmes, before the man fled into nearby brush.
Witnesses directed responding officers in his general direction, and police then arrested Mr. Tejeda-Castillo.
Lt. Thoemmes said Mr. Tejeda-Castillo injured himself with the knife in the process of his arrest.
He is being held on a $1 million bond, according to multiple reports.
Lt. Thoemmes said that Ms. Alotaibi died while receiving treatment for her injuries. She said the two were going through “marital problems” at the time of the incident.
Ms. Alotaibi was 13 weeks pregnant with the child of her current boyfriend, according to multiple reports.
Natalia Cespedes, Ms. Alotaibi’s mother, told local NBC affiliate in Honolulu KHNL that her daughter had documented abuse by Mr. Tejeda-Castillo.
“She sent me like a picture with all these bruises all over her body,” Ms. Cespedes told the station.
Ms. Cespedes reportedly told her daughter to tell his command and the police about his abuse. Ms. Alotaibi was able to get a no-contact order on her husband, the military equivalent of a restraining order.
In a statement provided to KHNL, the Marines said: “We can confirm that the Marine suspect’s command was engaged with both him and the victim, and were responsive to those allegations and concerns that the command was made aware of. Due to the ongoing nature of the criminal investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further on this topic.”
Ms. Cespedes, who lives in Falls Church, Virginia, set up a GoFundMe page to cover Ms. Alotaibi’s funeral expenses. It has received $7,000 with a $15,000 goal.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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