The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office said the 33-year-old woman killed in her Waikiki condominium Monday died of cranial cerebral injuries caused by multiple gunshot wounds to the head.
The woman’s identity had not been officially released by the Medical Examiner’s Office on Thursday, but her name was being reported by international media.
She was apparently killed by her husband in a murder and attempted suicide, and the case is classified as a homicide.
Honolulu police Capt. Lisa Mann has said there are no suspects other than the husband. He remains hospitalized and no charges have been filed.
The XinMSN news service and a Chinese newspaper reported that the victim is Tara Irdawati Isnin, who moved to Hawaii from Singapore with her newlywed husband, Leo Chavez, 40. The Singapore Consulate General in San Francisco also confirmed that the victim is Isnin.
The couple had been married for only two months.
According to the Chinese evening paper Shin Min Daily News, the killing may have been triggered after the woman had asked for a divorce.
The Chinese newspaper reported that the 19th-floor crime scene at the Ala Wai Townhouse condo was gruesome, with blood splattered along the hallway, living room and bedroom. Isnin’s body was found on the sofa with multiple bruises. The murder suspect was found unconscious with a bullet wound to his right cheek.
Isnin was a corporate communications manager with the global real estate company Savills, the newspaper reported.
Isnin’s friends in Singapore said the couple married in Hawaii in early August after knowing each other for about a year.
After the wedding, Isnin returned to Singapore briefly to prepare for her permanent move to Hawaii.
Her friends told the Chinese newspaper that Isnin was contemplating divorce even before she returned to Hawaii in September, and they speculated that this may have led to her death.
The Shin Min Daily News said Isnin’s brother is preparing to fly to Hawaii to claim her body.
Friends told the newspaper that on Saturday Isnin said she was at her "wits’ end" and had planned to return back to Singapore next week because she could not tolerate being with her husband.
Her friends told the Malaysia Chronicle that Isnin had plans to take her daughter, whom she last saw six weeks ago, to Resorts World Sentosa on the island of Sentosa, off the southern coast of Singapore, with friends. The key attractions include one of Singapore’s two casinos, a Universal Studios theme park and Marine Life Park, which includes the world’s largest oceanarium.
One friend told the newspaper that although Isnin appeared to be happy in the numerous pictures she posted online, her friend wondered whether she was truly happy, but decided not to pursue the issue because the victim was a naturally optimistic person who believed that "love conquers all."
The friend described Chavez as possessive, demanding that his wife report her every move to him.
The victim’s brother, Irwan Isnin, told the Singapore Straits Times newspaper that he met Chavez only once before the couple was married. He said he did not have a very good impression of his brother-in-law.
Isnin had a 4-year-old child from a previous marriage with an Australian man whom she married in 2006, the Chinese paper reported. The daughter is living with her father in Singapore.
City Emergency Medical Services personnel said the couple both had gunshot wounds.
Paramedics took the man to the Queen’s Medical Center from the 100-unit condominium at 2421 Ala Wai Blvd. after being called to the building at about 4:25 a.m. Monday.
Two Army criminal investigators also were called to the scene Monday. One of them said they were there because the man involved was believed to be a soldier.
An Army spokeswoman at Schofield Barracks referred all questions to the Army Criminal Investigation Command in Arlington, Va., which declined to comment, except to say that it was working with Honolulu detectives. An Army investigator at the crime scene said he didn’t believe the suspect used a service handgun.
A friend of the woman, who declined to be named, told the XinMSN news service that Isnin intended to move her daughter over after she "settled down" in Honolulu.
The victim and her husband lived alone in the Hawaii apartment, the news service reported.
Police said they are investigating reports of gunshots that were heard in the area prior to being called to the scene early Monday. People living near the Ala Wai Canal said they heard gunshots a few days before Monday but none that morning.
