A homicide murder-suicide is underway after a woman was found shot to death inside a Santa Rosa apartment on Sunday evening. Investigators believe Jeremy Lyle, 44, shot his domestic partner, Mari Bonnici.
At approximately 7:02 PM on Sunday, officers with the Santa Rosa Police Department (SRPD) and emergency medical personnel were dispatched to an apartment on the 4600 block of Quigg Drive following a disturbing 911 call. According to police, a neighbor reported that Lyle had come to her apartment, handed her an infant, and told her to call for help because the baby’s mother was injured. He then fled the scene in an unknown vehicle and direction.
When officers arrived, they found an unresponsive woman—later identified as 38-year-old Mari Bonnici—on a couch inside the apartment. Officers forced entry and confirmed that Bonnici was deceased from at least one gunshot wound.
In a back bedroom, police located twin toddlers, unharmed, along with the infant who had been given to the neighbor. Authorities believe all three children are the biological offspring of Lyle and Bonnici. Lyle died of a single self-inflicted gunshot wound at the parking lot of the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office, located at 3336 Chanate Road.
As the investigation progressed, officers confirmed both Lyle and Bonnici were employed by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office at the time of this incident. Lyle, a Deputy Sheriff, and Bonnici, a Detention Specialist, were both off-duty when this incident occurred.
All three children, believed to be those of Lyle and Bonnici, are now in the care of relatives.
The investigation is ongoing. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
