Assault victim’s Nadine Makuakane considers herself a survivor.
scars linger despite
ex-boyfriend’s apology
Expressions of regret fail to
convince Nadine Makuakane
to forgive Chad PachecoBy Debra Barayuga
dbarayuga@starbulletin.comThe reddish scar on her chest and numerous scars on her forearms are a testament.
But they don't tell the complete story of being stabbed 31 times and having her face shattered with a tire iron and tire stand by her then-boyfriend, Chad Pacheco, more than three years ago.
"Adrenaline, I guess," she says of the strength that made her fight back and try to flee.
She would have died from losing so much blood had not state parks employees overheard her cries and spotted Pacheco's truck dangling from the cliffside near Diamond Head with the couple inside.
Yesterday, Makuakane listened and watched as the hearing-impaired Pacheco, 28, apologized through a sign-language interpreter, asking for her forgiveness.
He said he felt he had lost the most important thing that he cared for that night.
"I pray everyday for your health and your happiness because I want the best for you," he said.
Under a plea agreement, Pacheco was sentenced to a 20-year prison term for attempted manslaughter, based on extreme mental and emotional disturbance. He could have faced a life term with parole had he been convicted of attempted murder.
Pacheco has agreed to serve at least a 10-year minimum, but the state is free to argue for up to 20 years at an upcoming parole board hearing.
The couple had been going together for seven years since her sophomore year in high school and were even engaged. They spent almost every day together, but then Makuakane told him she wanted some space before settling down.
Throughout their relationship, Pacheco had never been violent. But the prospect of her leaving him apparently set him off, prosecutors said.
Deputy public defender Todd Eddins said the attack was totally out of character for Pacheco.
Despite his hearing impairment, Pacheco was able to overcome much adversity. He graduated in the middle of his class at Pearl City High and was an Eagle Scout. Since 1991 and until the incident, he worked as a produce clerk at the Pearl Harbor commissary.
Outside the courtroom, Makuakane said she didn't believe Pacheco was sincere in his apologies and isn't ready to forgive. Although she looks almost the same now as she did before the attack, the emotional scars remain.
She still undergoes counseling to help her through the trauma. She underwent intensive reconstructive surgery to repair a shattered eye socket, broken nose and jaw, but the nerves in her face were badly damaged and are still sensitive.But she's thankful to be alive, unlike some other victims of domestic violence. Although she had aspired to be a flight attendant and graduated from school with honors, she has gone back to school to study nursing.
Deputy Prosecutor Maurice Arrisgado said Makuakane's youth and luck may have been what saved her.
"She was strong, she fought back," he said.
The couple was parked near Diamond Head when Pacheco grabbed a knife he used for fishing off the dashboard and began stabbing her repeatedly in the face, head and chest, said Arrisgado.
At one point, the tip of the knife broke when he stabbed her in the forehead. He stabbed her in the chest but she managed to pull out the knife, but not before it punctured her lung, causing it to collapse.
She managed to get out of the truck but Pacheco went after her with a tire iron and stand, breaking her eye socket, nose and lower jaw and knocking out teeth. He got her back inside the truck and drove off.
Makuakane maintains Pacheco drove off the cliff on purpose. The truck would have gone over if a kiawe tree hadn't gotten in the way.
Emergency personnel didn't initially realize that her bleeding and other injuries did not stem from the car accident.