WAILUKU - A Wailuku woman who said she was trying to work on her relationship with her boyfriend was placed on five years' probation Wednesday for attacking him with a baseball bat.
"After the incident, I took the initiative to get some help," Marivic Simpliciano, 30, said in court.
She is enrolled in an anger management program, completing all but one class, and had also been in therapy, said Deputy Public Defender William "Pili" McGrath. He said that was unusual, as well as the fact that alcohol or drugs didn't appear to be involved in what happened.
Simpliciano had pleaded no contest to second-degree assault of her boyfriend on April 18.
When he returned home at about 7:30 that evening, she first hit him with a foam bat and a toy light saber before using a full-sized metal bat to beat him, said First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Robert Rivera. Then, he said, Simpliciano punched her boyfriend in the face a few times.
In police reports, "he makes clear she had beaten him before," Rivera said.
"This attack is almost unexplainable," he said. "There seems to be no rhyme or reason for it."
McGrath said Simpliciano became angry when her boyfriend got home late "so she whacked him."
"By going to therapy and by going to anger management, she should be able to deal with it," McGrath said.
Simpliciano said what happened that night followed "a really ugly four-year relationship with him."
She said they were working on their relationship and expecting a second child.
Second Circuit Judge Rhonda Loo said it was Simpliciano's choice whether to stay in the relationship.
"Couples argue," Loo told Simpliciano. "But most couples don't take it to the level of getting a baseball bat and using their boyfriend's body for batting practice. You did cross the line."
The judge followed a plea agreement in sentencing Simpliciano. She was ordered to complete a domestic violence intervention program and not to consume alcohol or illegal drugs.
"You do have an anger problem," Loo told Simpliciano. "And you need to keep it in check. If you don't keep it in check, I'm going to check you into prison."
* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.
