By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Tufono Fale, 23, is shown in court this morning shortly
before she was sentenced to 20 years in prison for manslau-
ghter in the death of her daughter, Logise, 2, on Sept. 14, 1997.

Mom gets 20 years
for death of daughter

Tufono Fale kicked
2-year-old Logise and waited
eight hours before
calling for help

By Susan Kreifels
Star-Bulletin

A Wahiawa woman was sentenced to 20 years in prison today for the kicking death of her 2-year-old daughter last year.

Circuit Judge Richard Perkins, who handed down the sentence, said Tufono Fale, 23, must serve at least six years and eight months behind bars.

Fale was found guilty of reckless manslaughter in August for kicking her daughter, Logise, in their Wheeler Army Air Field home on Sept. 14, 1997.

She was originally charged with second-degree murder.

The state had asked that Fale be given life in prison with the possibility of parole, the same sentence she would have received if she had been convicted of murder in the second degree.

The mother admitted she kicked Logise when she was upset but said she did not intend to kill her.

The jury took only a few hours to reach a verdict.

A medical expert testified during the trial that Logise would have been in extreme pain at the 10 a.m. incident and would have lived if she had been given immediate medical attention.

Fale called 911 at 6 p.m., when the girl was already unconscious. Her daughter died that night. Fale testified that Logise continued to eat and play after the kick.

Deputy Public Defender Debra Loy said Fale was under extreme emotional stress when she kicked the child several times after finding her strewing laundry around a bedroom.

Loy said Fale had been sexually and physically abused as a child and suffered beatings from her husband.