Friends and colleagues remember Mary W.M. Guo as an intelligent, generous person with a cheerful disposition.

“Mary aspired to be someone who would be a force for good in our community and was considered a rising star in Hawaii’s health care industry, said Michael Bruno, provost at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Dustin W. Saluda appeared before Judge Clarissa Malinao via videoconferencing at Honolulu District Court Wednesday on a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of Guo in Makiki Heights.

Police had earlier described Saluda as Guo’s boyfriend. However, new court filings indicate Saluda told officers on the night of the stabbing that Guo was his fiancee.

Saluda’s bail is set at $1 million.

The cause of Guo’s death was “multiple sharp force injuries, assault and other significant conditions” due to asphyxia or strangulation, according to the Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office.

The stabbing occurred Sunday night at the couple’s unit on the 27th floor of the Mott-Smith Laniloa condominium at 1717 Mott Smith Drive.

Police responded to a call of a suicidal male about 8:30 p.m. When officers arrived at the unit, a man later identified as Saluda opened the door. He was covered in blood and holding a folding knife in one hand, court documents said.

Officers detained Saluda after they ordered him to drop the knife.

Police found an unresponsive woman later identified as Guo in the bedroom with multiple wounds to her chest and neck area. Life-saving measures were administered and she was taken to The Queen’s Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

Saluda has a criminal history of felony arson after he was accused in 2013 of setting fire to his apartment at the Ala Wai Plaza condominium complex. Court records note his roommates and acquaintances noticed Saluda acting strangely several days before he set fire to the unit. According to a report by a three-member panel appointed to conduct a mental-health examination on him, Saluda also had heard voices that were “commanding him to do strange things.”

Court records reveal Saluda was diagnosed with schizophrenia and post- traumatic stress disorder from his military service and from childhood trauma. He was also diagnosed with alcoholism.

A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, he served two tours in Iraq and was discharged in 2008 due to physical injury and depression.

Court records also show Saluda’s mental illness history dates back to his youth, when he was hospitalized for nine months at a hospital in Florida.

In 2014, Saluda was acquitted of the arson charge by reason of insanity and committed to the Hawaii State Hospital, where he underwent treatment. Four years later, a Circuit judge granted his release.

Guo, an alumna of Roosevelt High School, graduated from the University of California Berkeley, where she double-majored in integrative biology and Chinese language. She then earned both a bachelor’s degree in nursing and master’s degree in public health at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

In 2017, Guo joined the laboratory at the Pacific Health Analytics Collaborative at UH, where she worked as a graduate research assistant.

Victoria Fan, associate director of PHAC and professor of public health at the UH-Manoa Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, described Guo as “one of the most responsible, hard-working, fair employees I’ve been fortunate to work with.”

She further described her as professional, intelligent, organized and “cheerful to a fault.”

“My heart goes out to her family and friends. She will be missed and is very much irreplaceable,” Fan said.

In a statement, Bruno said, “Her death is a loss for our campus community and Hawaii.”

“For the family and friends of Mary, I find myself grasping for the right words to offer comfort and to understand a dark situation. I hope that there will be peace after this pain and that there will be justice” he added.

Bruno said they plan to establish a memorial scholarship fund in Guo’s name.

A GoFundMe account has been created in remembrance of Guo to assist the family with funeral expenses. To make a donation, visit gofundme.com Opens in a new tab.