Details emerge after woman charged with “horrific” killing of aunt of…

An author in Samoa has been charged with murdering another prominent Samoan writer, who was also the aunt of former U.S. congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, authorities in the South Pacific island nation said.

Papalii Sia Figiel, 57, is accused of killing Caroline Sinavaiana-Gabbard 78, after an argument last month, officials told The Associated Press. Both women were prominent figures in the Pacific literary community, and Sinavaiana-Gabbard’s family is involved in U.S. politics.

The two women were at Figiel’s home which doubles as the community’s local theater, when Figiel allegedly stabbed Sinavaiana-Gabbard multiple times and beat her with a hammer, local media reported.

Figiel is in custody awaiting a court appearance next week. She has not entered a plea to the charge of murder. Figiel is not yet represented by a lawyer, police said, and could not be contacted for comment.

Sinavaiana-Gabbard, a poet and environmentalist, in 2013 became the first…