Congress drafts bill
aimed at domestic
violence by soldiers

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By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com

Last summer's string of domestic violence at military bases has generated legislation in Congress that would require the military to enforce restraining orders issued by civilian courts.

At Fort Bragg in North Carolina, two soldiers killed their wives and themselves and two other soldiers are charged with murdering their wives.

In Hawaii, a Pearl Harbor sailor, whose Singapore-born wife was granted a temporary restraining order, allegedly killed his spouse and her mother in June.

Lt. Cmdr. Jane Campbell, Navy spokeswoman, said that although Navy bases now do not enforce restraining orders issued by civilian courts, "a family member can request through the chain of command a military protective order, which is a direct order for the individual to stay away from the spouse."

Last week, the U.S. House passed legislation that would help protect both civilians and military personnel at military installations. The measure still has to go through the Senate.

After two postponements requested by defense attorneys for Petty Officer 2nd Class David Allen DeArmond, 33, a pretrial hearing will be held on Nov. 12 at Pearl Harbor.

DeArmond, assigned to the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, has been in the Ford Island brig since June 10, when the bodies of Zaleha DeArmond, 31, and Saniah Binte Abdul Ghani, 66, were found on the second floor of their home in the Hokulani naval housing complex.

DeArmond is accused of striking his wife, Zaleha, in the head with an iron skillet. The Navy said she was raped and her mother was stabbed repeatedly with a knife.

DeArmond could face the death penalty pending the outcome on the November Article 32 pretrial hearing. Under military law, murder can be a capital offense, depending on the recommendation of the judge presiding over the Article 32 hearing, which is similar to a preliminary hearing.

Besides rape and murder, DeArmond also is charged with abusing his wife's body and impeding the criminal investigation by destroying, moving and tampering with the evidence in the couple's two-story home on Leal Place outside Pearl Harbor's Nimitz Gate.

Zaleha DeArmond had sought a restraining order May 3, saying her husband broke their dining table; threw away her Quran, the Muslim holy book; threw their wedding photo in the toilet; and threatened her. However, DeArmond moved out of the couple's home before the June 10 incident and into enlisted barracks at Pearl Harbor.