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'(The child) related that grandma was on fire and that grandpa kept yelling at her. She saw a big ball of flames engulfing her body from head to toe.' Police report
Family rallies to
aid woman set afire
Her husband has been charged
By Jaymes K. Song
with a murder attempt, but
relatives 'cannot be mad'
and Anthony Sommer
Star-Bulletin
Lillian Cabral expressed no anger at the man who allegedly poured a flammable liquid on her sister's head and set her ablaze with a cigarette lighter just a few days ago.
Cabral said her family is more concerned for the recovery of Miu Lan Esposo-Aguiar, 39, than the actions or motives of Gregory Aguiar, 49, now charged with the attempted murder of his wife of nine years.
"We cannot be mad -- cannot be hating right now," a tearful Cabral said at news conference yesterday at Straub Hospital with 10 other family members, including Esposo-Aguiar's mother, brothers, sisters and four children.
Esposo-Aguiar remains confined today in the intensive care unit at Straub Hospital with second- and third-degree burns over 76 percent of her body. Although she cannot talk, she communicates with her family by moving her leg, Cabral said.
"She is in a very critical (condition), but in high spirits," Cabral said.
Straub officials said Esposo-Aguiar could remain hospitalized for several months and are concerned about possible infection and dehydration because of her burns.
Nonetheless, Cabral spoke highly of her brother in-law and said the family wasn't aware of any previous signs of domestic abuse.
"There's no warning. He's really a nice person and we're all very close to him," she said.
Aguiar allegedly set his wife on fire at their Eleele home on Sunday following an argument.
A 3-year-old girl, who was the only other person home at the time, told police the couple was arguing when her grandfather poured something from a red container on her grandmother's head and set her on fire with a lighter.
"(The child) related that grandma was on fire and that grandpa kept yelling at her," according to a police report.
A neighbor heard the arguing and saw Esposo-Aguiar, on fire, run out of the back door on fire and across the street at about 11 a.m.
"She saw a big ball of flames engulfing her body from head to toe," according to police.
The neighbor then saw the husband run to his car and drive off.
Esposo-Aguiar used a neighbor's garden hose to soak herself and put out the blaze. Neighbors rushed to her aid and called 911.
A critically injured Esposo-Aguiar told emergency crews that she and her husband had been arguing about how much time she had been spending working on Oahu.
For the past eight years, she has been an office manager for Home Infusion in Lihue, a company that rents and sells medical equipment to homebound people.
A co-worker said Esposo-Aguiar had been spending time in Honolulu opening a new office and attending a trade show.
Police recovered a packed suitcase in the kitchen. They found the kitchen floor covered with a gasoline-smelling liquid and a trail of charred clothing, melted on the ground from Esposo-Aguiar's home to the garden hose.
Aguiar surrendered to police about two miles away from his home and almost three hours later at Kauai Coffee Co., where he is employed, police said. A friend had advised him to turn himself in.
A Kauai Coffee Co. official said Aguiar is an orchard utility worker and has been an employee since 1970. The official said Aguiar has never been disciplined or had any problems at work.
Family members describe Esposo-Aguiar, a 1978 Kapaa High graduate, as a "very spunky" person who enjoys talking."She's one of the strong ones in our family," Cabral said. "(Now), we tell her, 'be strong, you're always strong for us.'"
A preliminary hearing in Kauai District Court has been scheduled tomorrow morning for Aguiar. He is being held on $100,000 bail.
He had one previous arrest, about 15 years ago, for drunken driving, police said. He had no arrests for domestic abuse.
