Katina Aflleje’s sisters woke up five days ago to news that their illness-free 33 year old sister was dead at the hospital. Her boyfriend with whom she lived – Eugene Tudela Huffman – had been arrested that same morning by police on allegations he assaulted and raped her in June.
That is all they know. Hospital officials refused to tell them whether foul play was involved in Ms. Aflleje’s death. Police have kept them and their mother in the dark about their investigation into her death.
The Guam Police Department has been anything but forthcoming about the matter since the morning of August 6, when she died and they arrested Mr. Huffman. In fact, the media only found out she had died after noticing a peculiar sentence in the magistrates report released on August 7 that said police went to Mr. Huffman’s home the day before “regarding an expired person complaint.”
The magistrates report was the document that led to court charges stemming from a June incident, when Mr. Huffman allegedly locked Ms. Aflleje in a room for three days, beat her, pulled out one of her front teeth with pliers, and raped her with a toilet plunger. Police did not arrest him until the same morning Ms. Aflleje died, which was five days ago.
The magistrates report, however, said nothing about the death beyond the mention that police went to Huffman’s home “regarding an expired person complaint.” Late Tuesday evening, Ms. Aflleje’s sister commented on Kandit’s story on Facebook regarding Mr. Huffman’s arrest. Her comment indicated her sister had died. The following day, Kandit asked police spokeswoman Berlyn Savella whether Mr. Huffman was a suspect in any murder, whether the victim in his assault-rape case was dead, when she died, and whether foul play was suspected.
Police were unable to provide answers Wednesday. Kandit followed up Thursday, and still, GPD could not provide answers. By then, Kandit had already spoken to two of Ms. Aflleje’s sisters who had confirmed her death and the few details they knew.
Kandit then asked Ms. Savella several follow up questions including why it took GPD from June 6 until August 6 to arrest Mr. Huffman for the June 2 through June 5 crimes. We also asked how many times officers followed up on the case, and how many times and on what dates officers went to Mr. Huffman’s home to question him or otherwise to arrest him.
On Friday afternoon, police finally released a statement involving Ms. Aflleje’s death, but not naming her. Here is the full GPD statement:
“Thank you for your patience. The information provided was researched and gathered related to your inquiry for the arrest of Eugene W. Huffman and a woman, age:33 from the village of Dededo. Given that this involves two separate investigations it was important to ensure accuracy and precision.
“The Criminal Investigation Division, along with the Domestic Assault Response Team (DART), made numerous attempts to locate Mr. Huffman following the filing of a complaint against him on June 5th, 2024. Unfortunately, these efforts were unsuccessful. Throughout the investigation, several attempts were also made to offer the victim assistance through Victim’s Services; however, she declined, further noting she was receiving medical treatment.
“On August 6th, 2024, police officers were called to assist the Guam Fire Department after they responded to a report of an expired person—a 33-year-old female from the village of Dededo. During the course of their response, officers conducted a background check on the situation and identified that Mr. Eugene W. Huffman was a suspect in a criminal complaint filed in June 2024.
“As a result, Mr. Huffman was arrested for the offenses of Aggravated Assault, Criminal Sexual Conduct, and Family Violence. It is important to note that the incidents are being treated as two separate cases. The criminal case from June has been closed with the arrest of the alleged suspect, Eugene W. Huffman. This case has been forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office for their review and further action.
“The investigation into the expired person remains OPEN. The Criminal Investigation Division is currently working with the Medical Examiner’s Office in determining the cause of death through an autopsy.”
Kandit asked Ms. Savella whether detectives noticed any signs of foul play. “Awaiting for autopsy,” she replied.
We also asked for GPD to provide the media with the dates of the follow up visits GPD claims to have made to the Huffman home between June and August.
“I can confirm follow ups and checks were conducted,” she replied. “I am not able to provide a specific amount of times.”
Kandit asked her if the reason she was unable to provide the dates was because the detectives did not note the dates of the follow up visits and nothing is mentioned in the case file.
Ms. Savella did not reply to that question, which Kandit sent at 3:44 p.m. Friday.
Police resources and help for victims and survivors
GPD for years has lamented the lack of both entry level and seasoned officers in order to meet the several goals underlying their mission to serve and protect the public. Among those are the capacity to investigate domestic assault and sex crimes, to apprehend perpetrators, to forward those cases to prosecutors, and to testify in court about the crimes.
Guam has among the highest sex crimes prevalence rates in the nation, according to several sources.
Aside from the inadequate number of police officers, Guam lacks adequate life-saving and therapeutic resources for women, children, and other survivors of domestic assault and sexual violence, such as counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and rehabilitation programs.
Among the issues police, prosecutors, victims advocates, therapists, and social workers deal with is the phenomenon of domestic assault and sex crimes victims going back to their abusers after the dust settles from an arrest, and especially when police after some time fail to apprehend the suspect.
Battered Woman Syndrome
In the case of women physically and emotionally abused by their male partners, mental health experts for the past three decades have studied what is called Battered Woman Syndrome.
“BWS has been identified as a subcategory of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” according to an article called Battered Woman Syndrome by Lenore Walker in Psychiatric Times. Excerpts from the article:
“For a woman in a battering relationship, the most dangerous time is when she and her partner are discussing or thinking about separation. Even if the woman is no longer living with the batterer, she may not be safe.”
“It is important to do a risk assessment while also completing a mental status examination. Some battered women have other disorders in addition to PTSD and BWS.”
“Most battered women have been told of their faults over and over by the batterer. They also have experienced his jealousy, overpossessiveness, and attempts to isolate them from significant friends or family. They may need education about the impact of abuse on their physical as well as mental health.”
Stockholm Syndrome
“Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response to being held captive,” according to research published by Cleveland Clinic online. “People with Stockholm syndrome form a psychological connection with their captors and begin sympathizing with them.”
According to the article, people (particularly victims of kidnapping, sex abuse, and other types of subjugation) may end up developing positive feelings toward their captors or assailants, sympathy for his feelings and beliefs, and negative outlook toward the police.
According to the article, it is unknown why some victims develop Stockholm syndrome, and others don’t.
“One theory is that this is a learned technique passed down from our ancestors. In the early civilization, there was always a risk of being captured or killed by another social group. Bonding with captors increased the chance of survival. Some evolutionary psychiatrists believe this ancestral technique is a natural human trait.”
I included all this information in this article in case some jack ass feels it is necessary or somehow right to question why the victim was found inside Mr. Huffman’s home and wants to insinuate that she should not have gone back to live with him. These are the same idiots who question what a woman was wearing at the time she was raped. Or those who question why a boy didn’t run away when an adult male begins to fondle him.
4 Comments
Alan San Nicolas
08/12/2024 at 5:46 PM
Manpos meggai sumi ña I imbestigasion put este na kaosa. Maolek-ña yanggen ma ågang I FBI. PAS para I matai.
Adela
08/26/2024 at 5:15 AM
Imagine if I was murdered too by my husband because GPD, NEVER ARRESTED MY ABUSIVE HUSBAND EVERY-TIMEICALLED. I literally had to keep calling chief of police , governors office and random places to tell my story to to get help. I almost thought my husband was untouchable it was scary
Lp
09/15/2024 at 4:03 PM
I know. I was lucky to get away from this monster almost 30 years ago. GPD didn’t do anything for me or my daughter. When I was able to fight back I was thrown in jail. My condolences.
Lp
09/15/2024 at 4:05 PM
May Eugene’s soul rot in hell!