IN A NUTSHELL
A quiet evening in Northern California tragically escalated into a murder-suicide involving two members of the local sheriff’s department. A deputy shot and killed his ex-partner, a mother of three, before taking his own life. The incident left the community in shock and highlighted the devastating impact of domestic violence.
A Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy fatally shot his ex-partner, who was also a sheriff’s department employee, before dying by suicide during a standoff with police on August 11, 2025. The tragic sequence of events began on Sunday evening at a Santa Rosa apartment complex.
According to authorities, the incident began when a neighbor called 911 to report that a man had appeared at her door holding an infant and stated the child’s mother was hurt. Police identified the man as 44-year-old Deputy Jeremy Lyle, a 10-year veteran of the department. The victim was his ex-partner, 38-year-old Mari Bonnici, a detention specialist and the mother of their three young children.
When officers forced their way into the apartment, they found Bonnici deceased on the couch with a gunshot wound. Her 16-month-old twin daughters were found unharmed in a nearby room, while the 8-month-old son was the infant Lyle had given to the neighbor.
Police later located Lyle outside the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office. Following several hours of communication with crisis negotiators, he died by suicide with a single gunshot. Authorities have classified the case as a domestic violence-related murder-suicide, although officials stated there were no prior domestic violence reports between the couple. Court records, however, show that Bonnici had filed for the dissolution of their domestic partnership in June and had custody of their children.
The incident was deeply unsettling to the community, especially given that it involved a law enforcement officer. Residents expressed shock and horror, with one neighbor stating, “I can’t even fathom if the children saw that.” Bonnici was remembered by friends and family as a devoted mother. A GoFundMe was created to support her three young children, who are now reportedly in the care of relatives.
Two Other Tragedies
Just as the California community was reeling from this tragedy, news of two similar family murder-suicides surfaced from across the globe.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, four members of the Bockemeier family were found dead in what police believe was a murder-suicide. At around 6 a.m., firefighters responding to a house fire discovered three deceased individuals inside, all with gunshot wounds. The victims were identified as 76-year-old Stephen and 77-year-old Marcia Bockemeier, and their 48-year-old son, Erik. A second son, 35-year-old Andrew, was found dead outside the State Bar of New Mexico. Police concluded that Andrew likely shot and killed his parents and brother before taking his own life. A note was found at the residence, and officials believe mental health played a role in the tragic event.
A few days earlier in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a family of four was found dead in their apartment in what police also treated as a triple domestic homicide followed by suicide. The family, identified as Bernardo Adrián Seltzer, 53, his wife Laura Fernanda Leguizamón, 50, and their two children, Ian, 15, and Ivo, 12, all died from stab wounds. Based on a handwritten letter found in the kitchen and the lack of forced entry, police concluded that Leguizamón was responsible for the killings. Although no prior reports of domestic violence existed, her family confirmed that she had been receiving psychiatric treatment. Her final public Facebook post was described as “disjointed and erratic,” though nothing could be said with certainty. The family’s cat was the sole survivor.