Sadly, the tragic story of Canadian couple Ted and Ingeborg Jandura is not uncommon. Court documents dating back to 2003 detail a tumultuous marriage, one in which years of verbal and physical abuse had left a woman both desperate for help, and resigned to her fate — a pattern most domestic abuse victims find themselves in.

Ted Ingeborg is the oldest person in memory to be charged with murder in Hawai'i. He is 83. His wife, who died of multiple stab wounds, was 82.

While domestic abuse is often thought of as a problem among younger couples, it claims victims among the elderly as well. Far fewer elderly victims seek help; in cases of elderly immigrants, many don't realize that abuse is illegal.

"You tend to tolerate more as you get older," says Nanci Kreidman, executive director for the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse in Honolulu.

Abuse, under any circumstance, is intolerable. But for the elderly, who may feel that they have no options, it is even more heartbreaking.

It is often said that a society should be judged by the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens. Let's hope members of the Senate Judiciary and Ways and Means committees remember that as they vote today on the crucial adult-abuse bill, SB 1184.

Current law requires that three strict requirements be met before the state can investigate reports of abuse: The possible victim must be a dependent, already an abuse victim, and in imminent danger of continued abuse. This is simply a disgrace.

The bill would broaden the law to adults considered vulnerable to abuse because of physical, mental or other impairments. Dependency would no longer be required. It also would permit the state to investigate if the person has been abused or is in imminent danger, eliminating the requirement for both.

Seeking help is difficult enough for victims of domestic abuse, particularly those who have lived with it for years. The law should be designed to protect them and make it easier to get help — not leave them helpless because they haven't met certain criteria.