The Other Side of Paradise: Hawaii military faces scrutiny after series of spousal murders

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A Marine was sentenced to 26 years for murdering his wife on base as the Army investigates another spouse found dead on Schofield Barracks weeks earlier.

Wives are sounding the alarm about the violence and lack of information being provided to the community by military leadership.

Staff Sgt. Alonzo Alcantara was sentenced on Sept. 30, 2025, for the murder of his wife, Ruby Tenorio Alcantara, who died just over a year prior, on Sept. 1, 2024.

Alcantara admitted in court to using a rear-naked chokehold, a martial arts technique taught by the Marines, to kill his wife during an argument about finances and his legal troubles.

But the autopsy report that HNN Investigates obtained shows she had a lot more injuries, indicating Alcantara did more that just a chokehold.

The couple’s 8-year-old son witnessed the violence, it was revealed in court, and their younger child was also in the home at the time.

RELATED POST: Marine admits to killing wife using chokehold he learned from the Corps

Ruby Tenorio Alcantara’s sister, Monica, said the Marines failed to protect the victim.

Alcantara was already facing criminal charges for child sex crimes when he killed his wife.

“If he’d just been confined, then this wouldn’t have happened,” Monica said. “They could have done more. He found out that he was being investigated almost a year before he killed my sister, and he was just continuing to work and live his life.”

Alcantara admitted to chatting on an app with someone he thought was a 15-year old girl, but it was actually a sting operation by NCIS.

Former military prosecutor Kevin O’Grady explained that military judicial procedures differ from civilian courts, with no bail system and higher standards for pre-trial confinement.

“It is a high standard to hold somebody in pre-trial confinement. It is not the default,” O’Grady said. “The government has to have enough evidence to show that he’s a flight risk, he’s not amenable, will not follow orders, he’s likely to either obstruct justice or re-offend.”

In Alcantara’s case, the commander chose not to hold him in pre-trial confinement.

Alcantara pleaded guilty for the murder and to child enticement.

There have been a series of other violent crimes against military wives.

RELATED POST: Schofield soldier sentenced to 23 years in prison for killing pregnant wife

Two months before Ruby Alcantara’s murder, Army soldier Dewayne Arthur Johnson II killed his pregnant wife, 19-year-old Mischa Johnson, at Schofield Barracks using a machete.

He received a 23-year sentence after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. He was also charged with child pornography crimes, but those were dismissed as part of the deal.

RELATED POST: Mother hopes for justice for slain daughter at Marine’s upcoming trial

Marine Sgt. Bryant Tejeda-Castillo is scheduled for trial in February 2026 for the alleged stabbing death of his pregnant wife, 27-year-old Dana Alotaibi, along an Oahu freeway in February 2022.

And most recently, on Sept. 11, 2025, another soldier’s wife was found dead on base at Schofield Barracks, though the military has released no other information about the incident.

RELATED POST: HNN Investigates woman’s mysterious death at Schofield Barracks

Military spouse Shantelle Rackowski-Villafuerte expressed frustration with the lack of transparency from officials.

“The leadership of the military is continuing to fail victims,” she said. “It was very upsetting to me that another life has been taken, that there’s no reporting about it. There’s no public information.”

The Alcantara children are now living with family members who are struggling to pay the bills. There is a GoFundMe set up to help.

SPECIAL SECTION: The Other Side of Paradise

Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.