‘The System Failed Her’: Estranged Husband Murders Wife in Front of Their 8-Year-Old Daughter

A Hawaii man allegedly killed his estranged wife on Friday before turning the gun on himself.

The Hawaii Tribune reported that Theresa Cachuela, 33, filed a temporary restraining order against Jason Cachuela, 44, in December, claiming he threatened to kill himself in front of her. Theresa Cachula wrote that her estranged husband — who has guns — made the threats with her children present.

“He then took me alone to Waikiki and held a knife to his neck traumatizing me and scaring me,” she wrote. “The next morning he showed up to my house early in the morning to apologize. I tried to help him and talk to him but he kept threatening to kill himself again.”

According to the Hawaii Tribune, the Cachuelas’ 8-year-old daughter witnessed her father fatally shoot her mother in a parking garage at the  Pearlridge Center in Honolulu. Jason Cachuela was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound behind a home in Waipahu, police said.

Theresa Cachula’s mother told KHNL that her daughter said Jason Cachuela was abusive and she was seeking help from organizations that assist domestic violence victims. Sources said SWAT had confiscated some weapons from Jason Cachuela as a judge ordered him to surrender his guns.

Despite this, the couple had arranged visitation of their children on Wednesday — two days before the deadly shooting. They also agreed in court to keep the order active for another year.

Shortly before her death, Theresa Cachula allegedly told her family that her estranged husband was tracking her whereabouts through her car and phone. Her family alleged to KITV and other news outlets that law enforcement did not take these allegations seriously.

“They never arrested him, knowing that he had guns, knowing that he tried to threaten, he threatened to kill the kids and her in her own garage. The court wasn’t there for her,” Theresa Cachula’s mother told KHNL.

“The system failed her. And now she’s gone.”

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[Featured image: Theresa Cachuela/Instagram]