A Hawaiian social media influencer and beauty entrepreneur was shot dead in front of her eight-year-old daughter by her estranged husband, two weeks after she filed a restraining order against him in an incident currently under investigation as a murder-suicide, according to police.
Theresa Cachuela, 33, a mother of three and the owner of House of Glam Hawaii LLC in Waipahu, was fatally shot in the head by her estranged husband, Jason Cachuela, 44, in the parking lot of the Pearlridge Center on Friday morning, the Honolulu Star–Advertiser reported. Her youngest daughter witnessed the shooting and told the police that her father pulled the trigger and killed her mother.
Killed In front of Her Daughter
Local news outlets reported conflicting information about the girl's age, with some sources stating she was either 6 or 8 years old. The tragic shooting took place merely two weeks after Theresa had obtained a restraining order against her husband.
In the legal documents, she accused him of harassment and stalking, stating that she took this step "to protect myself" and her children.
Jason Cachuela fled the scene in a gray Mazda and was later discovered dead nearby in what is suspected to be a suicide.
Following his escape from the scene in a gray Mazda, Jason reportedly shot himself. Authorities are treating the tragic incident as a murder-suicide.
In the petition for the restraining order, Theresa Cachuela detailed that her estranged husband had made repeated threats to kill himself in her presence. She also mentioned incidents where he attempted to break into her garage door, hid under her car inside the garage, and held a knife to his throat, causing fear and trauma.
She reported these disturbing behaviors to the police and noted in the petition that he possessed multiple firearms.
"This was not a random act, as the victim and suspect were involved in a relationship," police Lt. Deena Thoemmes said Friday before the gunman was found dead, according to the Hawaii Tribune.
"We do know that there was a TRO that was served on him, which is why this case was classified as murder in the first degree," she said, referring to a temporary restraining order.
When the police served Jason with the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), they reportedly recovered his five registered firearms.
Theresa Cachuela's mother, Lucita Ani-Nihoa, shared with Hawaii News Now, "Her youngest daughter is the one who tragically saw everything. She's traumatized. She has so much faith, this little girl. She just ... started praying."
She added: "She doesn't believe it. She doesn't believe her mom is gone. I don't believe it."
Threatened to Kill Himself
According to the petition for TRO, Jason Cachuela had allegedly threatened to kill himself in front of Theresa Cachuela, as reported by the Hawaii Tribune.
"He then took me alone to Waikiki and held a knife to his neck traumatizing me and scaring me," she wrote, according to the outlet. "The next morning he showed up to my house early in the morning to apologize. I tried to help him and talk to him but he kept threatening to kill himself again."
Cachuela's mother provided a description of the tragic shooting on a GoFundMe page, mentioning that her daughter, referred to as "Tita" by the family, had planned to have breakfast with her on Friday morning.
"I wanted to give her and my grandkids their Christmas gifts," Ani-Nihoa wrote. "My daughter did not deserve this. She was trying so hard to get help, but the Justice system failed her," she wrote.
"We are so devastated with the loss of our beloved Tita. This has been so difficult for our family in which we were not prepared for," the grieving mother continued.
"We are currently asking for donations to help cover any funeral expenses for Tita as we would like to give her the memorial she deserves to honor her memory and say our last goodbyes," she added.
According to Ani-Nihoa, Cachuela had told relatives that she had been subjected to abuse by her husband. She filed the TRO due to his ongoing harassment and stalking, as reported by Hawaii News Now.
Before the tragic incident, Jason reportedly made multiple suicide threats, HNN reported. He was only allowed to communicate with Cachuela regarding child custody, as reported by KITV, with the couple having been married for a decade.
According to Jason's attorney, Michael Green, there was an agreement for visitation with the children, as mentioned by HNN. Green assured the Star-Advertiser that his client has never posed any violent threats towards Cachuela or the children.
He told the outlet that the request for a TRO was made to prevent Cachuela from harming himself. Before finalizing the TRO terms, he had organized a psychological evaluation.
Ani-Nihoa said that her daughter's pleas for police help should have been treated with greater urgency, suggesting that the tragic shooting might have been averted if the requests had been taken more seriously.
