An off-duty Sonoma County Sheriff’s deputy fatally shot the mother of his three children at her Santa Rosa apartment over the weekend before taking his own life in the parking lot of the county coroner’s office, according to police.
Authorities say Jeremy Lyle, 44, is believed to have shot his former domestic partner, Mari Bonnici, 38, around 7 p.m. Sunday at an apartment complex in the 4600 block of Quigg Drive.
While officers were on their way to the scene, Lyle reportedly went to a nearby apartment, handed an infant to a resident, and told her to call 911 because the baby’s mother was hurt.
Off-Duty Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputy Fatally Shot Domestic Partner
Responding officers found Bonnici on a living room couch with at least one gunshot wound. In a back bedroom, they located the couple’s twin toddlers, who were unharmed. The infants and toddlers are now in the care of family members.
Bonnici also worked for the sheriff’s department as a detention specialist.
About 30 minutes later, police received reports that Lyle’s truck was parked outside the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office on Chanate Road. Officers found him standing in the bed of his truck with a handgun behind his back. Negotiators, including a SWAT team, attempted to convince him to surrender peacefully, but around 2 a.m. Monday, Lyle shot himself and died.
Investigators say Lyle and Bonnici had been in a domestic partnership before separating and shared three children. While authorities believe the shooting stemmed from a domestic violence incident, no prior domestic violence reports involving the couple had been filed.
