By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
The defense says Tufono Fale, a 24-year-old mother of
three who was abused, herself, lost control and
kicked her child, killing her.

---

Murder jury told
mom lost it,
kicked her child

But a prosecutor tells
the jury the baby
was stomped

By Linda Hosek
Star-Bulletin

A woman who was sexually abused by her uncle, disciplined by her parents with sticks and beaten by her husband admits she unintentionally killed her 2-1/2-year-old daughter by kicking her, her attorney says.

Tufono Fale, a pregnant mother of three who was honorably discharged from the Army, lost control after her daughter, Logise, tossed clothes from a laundry basket, Deputy Public Defender Debra Loy said yesterday during her opening statement in Fale's murder trial.

"She kicked her three or four times," Loy said. "She didn't know how hard she kicked her. She just knew she was out of control."

Loy said Fale, who appeared subdued as the state showed photos of her child's injuries, was under extreme emotional distress at the time of the Sept. 14 incident, making her guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

But Deputy Prosecutor Thalia Murphy said murder was the "just verdict" for the 24-year-old Fale, who probably could have saved her little girl's life if she had called for help after she injured her at their home at Wheeler Army Air Field. She said that, instead, the child was in excruciating pain for hours from powerful blows that tore open her small intestine, caused her to lose up to a cup of blood and fractured three ribs.

Logise also had abrasions on her neck, scratches on her scalp and acute peritonitis, an infection from partially digested food and acid that spilled into her abdominal cavity.

Murphy told jurors that Fale had said she didn't love her daughter and had told her: "It would be better off if you were dead."

Dr. Janice Ophoven, a forensic pediatric pathologist hired by the state, testified that Logise's injuries to her abdomen were consistent with stomping, "literally taking the foot and crashing down with a great deal of force on the body."

She said tearing the elastic tissue within the abdomen requires a great deal of acceleration.

"The only time you see this kind of damage to tissue is in people who have been in car accidents," she said after illustrating a stomp by slamming her foot to the floor.Ophoven also said a semicircular pattern of bruising on Logise's legs and back was consistent with a human heel and that all her injuries together suggested "battered child syndrome."

She said another child could not have caused the injuries and that they could not have been caused by falling.

Ophoven said Logise's blows occurred four to six hours before she was found unconscious, adding: "The kinds of injuries she had could have been repaired."

Under cross-examination, Ophoven said the child could have been against a wall, saying the key was that the child had to be against a firm surface for such compression injuries.

The defense contends that the child was leaning against a wall and was kicked -- not stomped.

Ophoven, who practices in Minnesota, said that she was paid $5,000 to testify, an amount that included her $1,700 coach air fare, hotel bills and about 20 hours of preparation.

Murphy said the state hired Ophoven because Hawaii didn't have a forensic pediatric pathologist.

Loy said Fale was in the service when she met Mose Fale and was swept off her feet. But she also said Mose Fale abused Tufono, including choking, kicking, stepping on her head and punching her in the stomach during pregnancy.

She said Tufono was honorably discharged from the Army in 1996 and moved to Hawaii.

By then, they had three children, including Logise.

She said financial problems created stress and that Mose Fale didn't help with any chores.

Loy said Logise fell a couple of times in the days preceding her death.

She also said Fale kicked Logise about noon the day of the incident after she tossed laundry from a basket.

She said Fale checked on Logise, who played with her brothers before she lay down to nap. But she said she couldn't wake Logise around 6 p.m. for dinner and that she wasn't breathing.

"Only after she was told did she realize she had kicked Logise hard enough to cause internal injuries," she said.

The trial is expected to continue for about two weeks before Circuit Judge Richard Perkins.