Sonoma County Deputy Kills Partner, Self After Santa Rosa Standoff

An off-duty Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy fatally shot his former domestic partner—also an employee of the sheriff’s office—and later killed himself following a protracted standoff with police, Santa Rosa authorities said Monday. Investigators believe Deputy Jeremy Lyle, 44, opened fire on Mari Bonnici, 38, at about 7 p.m. Sunday inside her apartment on the 4600 block of Quigg Drive. Lyle then carried their infant to a neighbour, asked her to call 911, and fled. Officers found Bonnici on a couch with at least one gunshot wound; the infant and twin toddlers were unharmed and are now in family care. Roughly 30 minutes after the shooting, police located Lyle’s pickup in the parking lot of the county coroner’s office on Chanate Road. Negotiators and a SWAT team engaged him for nearly six hours before Lyle shot himself at around 2 a.m. Monday, authorities said. Both Lyle, a 17-year department veteran, and Bonnici, a detention specialist, were off duty. Santa Rosa police said there were no previous domestic-violence reports involving the couple. The incident remains under investigation as a murder-suicide linked to domestic violence.