WAILUKU - The killing of a Santa Cruz, Calif., woman on Maui this month was the second domestic violence homicide in the state this year, with both involving tourists, domestic violence task force members say.

And the homicide occurred amid a 37 percent increase in abuse cases reported to Maui police last year.

"The community's under a great deal of stress right now, and oftentimes stress comes out in arguing and fighting that can escalate out of control," said Tom Blackburn-Rodriguez, Maui Domestic Violence Task Force coordinator. "But still, there is no excuse for domestic violence. It's very important to recognize that."

With Domestic Violence Awareness Month approaching in October, advocates are reminding residents there are places they can get help.

Women Helping Women has a 24-hour domestic violence hot line at 579-9581 and operates a domestic violence shelter for women and children.

Parents and Children Together, which runs the Family Peace Center in Wailuku, offers group counseling for

both victims and batterers as well as help in obtaining temporary restraining orders in domestic violence situations. The agency can be reached at 244-2330.

"For anyone who feels that they are being mistreated - anything from verbal abuse to physical abuse - call someone, call us just to talk to us," said Lucy Feinberg, Maui regional director for Parents and Children Together. "Break the silence on domestic violence. Often, victims wait until it's very, very extensive, the type of abuse. Often, victims don't realize that this is not normal behavior."

The Maui homicide occurred Sept. 1, when the body of 35-year-old Celestial Cassman was found near Nakalele Point. Police were sent to the area shortly before 6:30 p.m. after reports of a domestic dispute, with one caller reporting that a man was seen dragging a woman down cliffs near Mile Marker 38 on Kahekili Highway.

A tourist driving on the highway had reported seeing a car behind him swerving across the road and the passenger door ajar as a woman apparently tried to get out of the moving car.

Shortly afterward, a Kahakuloa woman who came upon the stopped rental car told police that Cassman ran up asking for help before a large, muscular man pulled her back and said everything was fine. The man, later identified as Gerald Galaway Jr., 38, also of Santa Cruz, was seen with his arm around Cassman's neck, slamming her to the ground several times, according to police reports.

The resident told police she told the man to let the woman go, but he didn't. The resident also said she felt intimidated and went to call for help.

When police officers arrived in the area, Galaway turned and ran, jumping off a 100-foot cliff into the ocean, police said. He spent the night on a rocky outcropping before being retrieved by firefighters and police aboard a helicopter the next morning.

Galaway and Cassman had arrived on Maui on Aug. 31 and were staying together at a Kaanapali hotel, police said.

Galaway is awaiting trial in 2nd Circuit Court after pleading not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, kidnapping and attempted first-degree sexual assault. He worked as a behavior technician for a middle school autistic student at Easter Seals in Santa Cruz, according to his Facebook page.

Cassman was deputy city attorney for Santa Cruz and two other coastal California towns.

Advocates said the case goes against some stereotypes that people have about domestic violence.

"She does not fit what people think is the typical victim," said Stacey Moniz, executive director of Women Helping Women. "She was a professional. I do think it speaks to the reality, that domestic violence could happen to anyone. That's what I think is very powerful about the situation."

Moniz said Galaway also isn't someone people might envision as a suspect.

"And yet it was so painfully obvious that what was going on was definitely domestic violence," Moniz said.

She said it also was unusual that others witnessed what was happening, noting that domestic violence is usually perpetrated in private and stops when other people are watching.

"I feel for the people who were the bystanders in all of this," Moniz said. "The last thing you expect is someone running to the road begging for help and she ends up dead. Everybody did the best they could."

Added Feinberg: "The unsung heroes of this tragedy are the witnesses who tried to intervene. Witnesses have been extremely instrumental in stopping violence in other cases as well. We don't want them to take unnecessary risk but to call for help."

Moniz recommended that anyone who sees domestic violence occurring call 911 and try to keep an eye on what's happening.

But in the Nakalele case, "it didn't seem safe at all to intervene," Moniz said. "I wouldn't suggest anybody intervene in a situation like that unless you've got tactical training.

"I don't even have the answer. But I do think that what that says is, as a community, we need to be aware of family crises where this is going

on and try to help before someone gets killed. We all know families where this is happening."

Advocates say the other domestic violence homicide in the state occurred in May when a 44-year-old Bellevue, Wash., woman was killed in a room at a Big Island resort. Her boyfriend, Philip Howard Zimmerman, 46, also of Bellevue, is charged with second-degree murder in her death.

For 2010, Maui police tracked 3,899 reported incidents of abuse, compared with 2,388 the year before. The reports last year resulted in 421 arrests, down from 451 arrests in 2009.

Both PACT and Women Helping Women have seen more demand for services in recent months.

In the fiscal year that ended in June, PACT helped Maui residents with more than 500 restraining orders, compared with 95 in 2009 when two other organizations also offered help with restraining orders, Feinberg said. Women Helping Women also offers help with restraining orders.

At Women Helping Women's domestic violence shelter, there was a 25 percent increase in use during the year that ended in June, compared with the previous year.

Noting that Cassman was known by a middle name, Dove, which is a symbol of peace, Feinberg said she hoped the woman's legacy would be one of peace.

"She died from violence, but her name is the exact opposite," Feinberg said. "We are working for peace in our neighborhoods, in our homes, in our community.