A Hawaiian influencer was fatally shot by her estranged husband in front of her eight-year-old daughter, two weeks after she filed a restraining order against him.
Mother of three Theresa Cachuela, 33, was shot in the head and killed Friday morning in the parking lot of the Pearlridge Center in Waimalu, Hawaii, during the Christmas shopping season.
Her youngest daughter witnessed the shooting and told police her father pulled the trigger.
Her father, Jason Cachuela, 44, fled the scene in a gray Mazda and was later found dead nearby, apparently by suicide.
The shooting happened just two weeks after Theresa took out a restraining order against her husband, accusing him of harassment and stalking and telling the court she did so “to protect myself and her children.”
Theresa Cachuela was shot and killed by her estranged husband during Christmas shopping on Friday morning
Her estranged husband fled the scene and was later found dead in an apparent suicide
She wrote in the restraining order petition that he had repeatedly threatened to kill himself in front of her, tried to “break down my garage door,” hid under her car in her garage and held a knife to his throat, 'frightening and traumatizing. ' her.
She reported his behavior to the police and wrote in the petition that he had several firearms with him.
Theresa's mother, Lucita Ani-Nihoa, told Hawaii News Now: 'She has tried to tell the police a few times about all the problems surrounding the gun he pointed at her. He threatened to kill her.”
She added, “They never arrested him, knowing he had guns, knowing he was trying to threaten, he threatened to kill the kids and her in her own garage.
'The court was not there for her.
'The system has failed her. And now she's gone.'
She added: “Her youngest daughter is the one who tragically saw it all. She is traumatized. She has so much confidence, this little girl. She just started praying.
'She doesn't believe it. She doesn't believe her mother is gone. I do not believe it.'
Theresa's family members were distraught and comforted each other in the aftermath of her murder
Theresa was shot Friday morning during Christmas shopping in a mall park
Ani-Nihoa said the couple had had marital problems for 11 years and Cachuela had recently filed for divorce, telling relatives she had been abused by her husband.
She said: 'She wanted to leave him but he wouldn't accept it. He tried to control her, with everything…where she would go and what she would do.”
Ani-Nihoa said her daughter's murder could have been prevented if her requests for help had been taken more seriously.
The family has started a GoFundMe to help with funeral costs and support for the children.
On the page, Ani-Nihoa described the shooting. She said she was supposed to meet her daughter, whom the family called “Tita,” for breakfast Friday morning before the shooting.
She wrote: 'I wanted to give her and my grandchildren their Christmas presents. 'My daughter didn't deserve this.
“She tried so hard to get help, but the justice system failed her.”
The 33-year-old mother of three was a successful social media influencer and business owner
Cachuela had filed for a restraining order against her husband just two weeks ago and told police he had firearms
'We are so devastated by the loss of our beloved Tita. This has been so difficult for our family and we were not prepared for it.”
Cachuela's cousin, Terrell Scott, said he wants the community to remember her as a devoted mother and business owner.
Theresa owned House of Glam Hawaii LLC in Waipahu.
Scott told KITV: “She was very supportive of her children and she did everything she could to protect them.
'She is super sweet and a wonderful woman. I love her and I'm sorry her children are going through this.”