After Fredlynn Hoapili called Monday to say she wouldn't be able to work at the Kauai Palms Hotel anymore because of a family matter, her boss, Gloria Purter, became concerned.

“;She sounded very subdued,”; said Purter, who told her she hoped everything was OK.

Yesterday, Purter received a call at home saying Hoapili was fatally stabbed.

“;It's very heartbreaking,”; said Purter, adding that she wondered if there was anything she could have done to help Hoapili.

Hoapili, 53, of Lihue was stabbed to death, allegedly by her husband, at their Kress Street apartment on Kauai early yesterday. She was pronounced dead at Wilcox Memorial Hospital.

Joseph Samuel Hoapili Sr., 50, also known as Joseph Kepa Hoapili, was charged yesterday with second-degree murder and is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Court records show that Hoapili filed a request for a temporary restraining order against her husband in August 1995, but withdrew the request a month later.

According to criminal records, her husband was charged with promotion of a dangerous drug in the third degree, a class C felony, in July of last year. He was sentenced to two weeks in jail and a five-year probation term.

Hoapili worked as a special-education aide and school bus driver for Akita Enterprises Ltd. and as an on-call housekeeper at the Kauai Palms Hotel. Friends described her as a hard worker who always had a smile on her face.

Her family was her main priority, friends say. During her spare time, she enjoyed doing crafts, particularly beading.

Purter said there were no signs that Hoapili and her husband had problems.

“;Everybody is in shock about this,”; she said.

Hoapili, her husband and their two grandchildren lived at the hotel for about a month in August or September before they moved into an adjacent apartment complex. She and her family were homeless before moving into the hotel.

Since September, Hoapili periodically worked at the hotel on weekends and whenever management needed her to fill in when someone called in sick.

“;She was a sweetheart,”; Purter said.

Wendy Akita, vice president of Akita Enterprises, said Hoapili worked at the company during two different time periods for a total of about 10 years. “;She was very pleasant and outgoing, positive,”; said Akita, adding that she worked well with special-needs children. “;She was very good. ... They listened to her,”; she said.

“;We're just devastated and just blown away,”; Akita said of the stabbing. “;It's totally unexpected.”;