Woman gets 20 years
in prison for stabbing
husband to death

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By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

Although she faces a 20-year prison term for stabbing her abusive husband to death, family members can say Sabrina Fiaai is finally free.

"Free from this pain, free from fear and danger of her children who she tried to protect," said Angela Molina, Fiaai's sister, who witnessed the abuse and the effects it had on her sister and her children.

Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario sentenced Fiaai to 20 years in prison yesterday under a plea agreement in which she pleaded guilty to manslaughter based on extreme mental and emotional disturbance.

Deputy public defender Todd Eddins said he hopes Fiaai, 37, will receive the lowest minimum sentence possible when she appears before the Hawaii Paroling Authority.

He described Fiaai as a mother "consumed by love for her children," who were the only bright lights in her abusive marriage.

Although Fiaai faces imprisonment, she has been freed from her husband's brutality and the feeling of being a punching bag, Eddins said.

Fiaai pleaded guilty because she accepts responsibility for what she has done, Eddins said.

Fiaai apologized to members of her and her husband's family and thanked them for their love and support of her and her children.

Deputy Prosecutor Rom Trader called the case a tragedy not only for Abe Fiaai, but for family members on both sides and the six children who are now without a father and a mother.

Despite the 15 years during which her husband made her life "a living hell -- day in and day out," Sabrina Fiaai had choices and she made the wrong choice, he said.

In the early morning hours of Feb. 7, 2000, Fiaai grabbed a knife, woke her sleeping husband, and yelling "Die, you f-----!" stabbed him in the neck, Trader said.

Neighbors said they heard a noise at 3 a.m. resembling someone shooting down pavement with a water hose.

Trader said the sound was blood gushing from Abe Fiaai's throat after his wife stabbed him in the neck, severing his carotid artery and jugular vein. "He basically had no chance," and died within minutes.

Even as Abe Fiaai's family members had hoped the case against Sabrina would not go forward, prosecutors after months of investigation into the couple's history concluded her actions were not justified and felt it appropriate that she face charges.

"The simple fact was he didn't deserve to die, and his wife had absolutely no right to take his life," Trader said.

Molina said the violence was evident the first year the couple got together 15 years ago. In one instance, Abe Fiaai kicked his wife, choked her and pushed her down some stairs. Sabrina Fiaai required 42 stitches in her mouth and broke an ankle.

When Sabrina Fiaai stayed with her , she would wake up screaming in terror that her husband Abe was going to kill her and the children and feared for other family members, Molina said.

Fiaai had sent her two oldest children to live with Molina to shield them from her husband's violent rages. But after having four more children with him, it was difficult for her to leave the relationship, Molina said.

Abe Fiaai's family members support and continue to support Sabrina Fiaai. "Know that we love you, your family loves you and most of all, your children love you," Jojan Barrett, Abe Fiaai's niece, told Sabrina Fiaai.