Theresa Cachuela: Beauty influencer shot dead by estranged husband in front of daughter in Hawaii
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
OAHU, HAWAII: A Hawaiian social media influencer and beauty entrepreneur was fatally shot in front of her daughter by her estranged husband in a horrific incident which the authorities are investigating as a murder-suicide, police said, as per the Honolulu Star–Advertiser.
Theresa Cachuela, 33, who was a mother of three and owner of House of Glam Hawaii LLC in Waipahu, was executed by 44-year-old Jason Cachuela in the parking lot of the Pearlridge Center on Friday, December 22, 2023.
Murderer shot himself after killing Theresa Cachuela
Cachuela's daughter witnessed the shooting and told police her dad pulled the trigger, according to KITV. The girl was reported by local outlets as being either 6 or 8 years old.
It has been stated that shortly after leaving the scene in a grey Mazda, Jason shot himself. The killings, which happened two weeks after a judge approved Cachuela's request for an order of protection against her estranged husband, are being investigated by police as a murder-suicide.
“This was not a random act, as the victim and suspect were involved in a relationship,” police Lt Deena Thoemmes said 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. Additionally, when police served Jason with the TRO, they recovered his five registered firearms, as per the outlet.
Theresa Cachuela's daughter is traumatized
"Her youngest daughter is the one that tragically saw everything,” Cachuela’s mother Lucita Ani-Nihoa told Hawaii News Now. “She’s traumatized. She has so much faith, this little girl. She just … started praying,” the grieving mother said.
She added, “She doesn’t believe it. She doesn’t believe her mom is gone. I don’t believe it.”
The Hawaii Tribune stated that Cachuela allegedly threatened to commit suicide in front of the victim, according to the petition for the TRO. “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,” she said in the TRO.
Cachuela’s mother even described the tragic shooting on a GoFundMe page. She said her daughter, whom the family called “Tita”, planned to have breakfast with her Friday, December 22 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.
On the other hand, as per the New York Times, Jason’s attorney Michael Green said the couple had agreed to visitation of the children. Green told the Star-Advertiser that his client has never threatened violence against Cachuela and the children.
He informed the source that he had scheduled a psychological assessment before the pair agreed on the parameters of the TRO, and that the purpose of the request was to prevent Cachuela from taking her own life.
