California Mom of 3, Mari Bonnici, Found Dead at 38 in Her Apartment – Harrowing Details

A quiet evening in Northern California City escalated into a crisis involving two sheriff's employees, ending in tragedy and leaving a community in shock.

A Sonoma County sheriff's deputy fatally shot his ex-partner, a fellow sheriff's department employee, before dying by suicide during a standoff with police in the early hours of August 11, 2025, according to officials.

The incident began on Sunday evening, August 10, at an apartment complex on Quigg Drive in Santa Rosa.

Police Sergeant Patricia Seffens said that officers were alerted when a neighbor called 911 to report that a man had come to her door holding an infant and said the child's mother was hurt.

Officers identified the man as 44-year-old Deputy Jeremy Lyle, a 10-year department veteran and resident deputy assigned to Timber Cove since 2019. The victim was Lyle's ex-partner, 38-year-old Mari Bonnici, a detention specialist and the mother of his three young children.

Responding officers forced entry into the apartment and found Bonnici dead on the couch with at least one gunshot wound. Her 16-month-old twin daughters were found unharmed in a nearby room. The infant whom Lyle had handed to the neighbor earlier was their 8-month-old son.

Police later located Lyle parked outside the Sonoma County Coroner's Office. Crisis negotiators communicated with him for several hours. Around 2 a.m. Monday, he died by suicide with a single gunshot.

Authorities have not provided a specific motive but classified the case as a domestic violence-related murder-suicide. Police confirmed there were no prior domestic violence reports between the couple.

However, court records show that Bonnici filed for dissolution of their domestic partnership in June. She had custody of their three children while Lyle was living elsewhere.

The incident was deeply unsettling to the community, given that it involved a law enforcement officer, according to Sergeant Juan Valencia.

"We recognize the profound shock and concern that this incident brings to our community. Both the Sheriff's Office and the community place immense trust in those who are dedicated to serving and protecting. No level of training or experience can fully prepare us for such a tragedy," he added.

Santa Rosa resident Christina Savala said the neighborhood in the city's northeast was temporarily locked down, with officers entering her cul-de-sac and helicopters hovering overhead during the search for Lyle.

The scene left many in the community shaken. "It's as bad as it gets. I can't even fathom if the children saw that. I can't even imagine," said fellow resident Steve Schneider.

Bonnici was remembered by friends and family as a devoted mother and a kind, loyal friend. "She adored her three kids. They were her entire world," said her sister, Amie Porter. "She was deeply devoted to them and loved taking them on walks and getting pastries with them in the morning."

Another friend, Renée Evans, shared a tribute on Facebook expressing her sorrow over Bonnici's death and recalling their close friendship during high school and college.

She encouraged others to donate and share the GoFundMe campaign created to support Bonnici's three young children, noting that the family would need help in the wake of the tragedy.

According to the fundraiser page organized by Kaity McCracken, they remembered Bonnici as one of the few women in a close-knit group of classmates at the local junior college. She also shared that they had recently reconnected and were looking forward to catching up and introducing their children.

As of this writing, the page has raised $23,993. Bonnici's grandmother, Loni Bonnici, will oversee the funds to help support the children's long-term care. The children are reportedly now in the care of relatives.

Just as one community was beginning to grieve the impact of domestic violence, another city was confronting a different but equally tragic scene.

Four members of the Bockemeier family were found dead in Albuquerque on the morning of Saturday, May 24, in what police investigated as a possible murder-suicide.

Around 6 a.m., Albuquerque Fire Rescue (AFR) responded to a report of a house fire on the 2800 block of Georgia Street Northeast, near Candelaria and Louisiana. Upon arrival, firefighters found three deceased individuals inside the home. All three appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds before the fire began.

Albuquerque Police Department (APD) Homicide detectives and Crime Scene Specialists were immediately called to the scene to begin an investigation.

APD later confirmed that the victims were a married couple, 76-year-old Stephen William Bockemeier and 77-year-old Marcia Elizabeth Bockemeier, and their 48-year-old son, Erik Josef Bockemeier.

Shortly after the discovery at the residence, APD received another call about a deceased person found outside the front entrance of the State Bar of New Mexico, located near the corner of Jefferson Street Northeast and Masthead Street Northeast. Police identified the individual as 35-year-old Andrew Stephen Bockemeier, another son of Stephen and Marcia.

Detectives found that the firearm used in the suicide matched the one used in the killings at the Georgia Street home. Police say this led them to conclude that Andrew likely shot and killed his parents and brother before taking his own life.

Authorities confirmed that a note was found at the residence, but its contents had not been released. APD continued to investigate the exact cause of the fire and any additional circumstances surrounding the event.

Gilbert Gallegos, APD's communications director, stated, "The individual who died of suicide was the son of those parents, and that was his brother, who was killed in the house. So at this point, it appears this individual shot and killed his parents and his brother."

Gilbert also acknowledged the broader impact of such incidents. "It's troubling. It was troubling last year. I think that totaled about ten deaths last year just from those couple of incidents. To see this happen today, too, it's just another reminder that some families are going through different things that we don't know about," he said.

Police believed mental health played a role in the tragic incident. As the investigation continued, officials worked to gather more details about the circumstances leading up to the deaths of the four family members. The APD Homicide Unit stayed actively involved as the community awaited further updates.

Just days earlier, and thousands of miles away, a separate tragedy unfolded under eerily similar circumstances — this time in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where a family of four was found dead in their sixth-floor apartment on Aguirre Street in the Villa Crespo neighborhood.

The discovery was made at around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21, when the family's housekeeper arrived for work and found the body of one of the couple's two sons near the front door.

Police were immediately alerted, and the remaining three family members were later found deceased in different rooms of the home. Authorities identified the deceased as Bernardo Adrián Seltzer, 53; his wife, Laura Fernanda Leguizamón, 50; and their two children, Ian, 15, and Ivo, 12. All four had died from stab wounds.

According to reports from Infobae, the man's body was discovered in one of the apartment's bedrooms. The knife used in the attack was also located in that same room.

The woman's body was found in the bathroom, and their other son's body was discovered in his own room. There were no signs of forced entry, and the apartment door was locked, suggesting no intruders had entered.

A handwritten letter was found in the kitchen, containing what police described as rambling text. Investigators from the Buenos Aires Homicide Division, along with the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office No. 5 under César Troncoso, treated the case as a triple domestic homicide followed by suicide.

The evidence at the scene led investigators to believe that Leguizamón was responsible for the killings.

Seltzer, originally from the Buenos Aires town of Rivera in the Adolfo Alsina district, was known as a specialist in grain markets and sales. He had reportedly consolidated his wealth during the soybean boom in the 2000s.

Sources confirmed that there had been no previous reports of domestic violence involving the couple. However, it was revealed that Leguizamón had been receiving psychiatric treatment.

According to her sister, she may have stopped taking her medication. The housekeeper, who worked regular shifts at the home, noted that her employer's behavior had changed over the past week.

The housekeeper, who arrived for her scheduled shift at noon, told police that she found one of the children lying in a pool of blood near the entrance.

Shortly after, the rest of the apartment was searched and the other three bodies were discovered. Medical personnel confirmed all four individuals were deceased upon arrival.

The mobile criminalistics unit, summoned by Prosecutor Troncoso, carried out evidence collection at the scene. Based on the collected data, investigators concluded that Leguizamón committed the murders before taking her own life.

As police conducted their investigation, the only living being removed from the apartment was the family's cat. Officers were seen carrying the animal in a crate, treating it with care. La Nacion reported that the cat appeared to be the sole survivor from the tragic scene.

Authorities continue to review the circumstances that led to the tragedy, though all signs indicate a murder-suicide initiated by the mother.

With no history of violence in the household and limited insight into the family's recent life, the case left both investigators and the public grappling for answers. The investigation continued.

Leguizamón's last public Facebook post on March 1 drew attention. It featured several cheerful photos of the family smiling, dining out, and enjoying quality time together.

The caption, written in a disjointed and erratic style, reflected on a short getaway to Mar del Plata — a coastal city in Argentina.

"A quick Mar del Plata trip. It started. Then got canceled. Then changed — we did what we could. It is what it is. Rain. Sun. The hotel. Driving. The theater. The storm. Yes. No." She called the trip "special," citing reasons like a promise she made, the upcoming school start, and a visit to Aquopolis.

The post also mentioned packing details. "Five of us. More suitcases. More little seats. Beach mat. Towel. Tiny shovel. Mates. Less sleep. Way more attention."

She ended with seemingly random remarks about people they encountered, such as La Gri and Nelly, and local spots like Punta Mogotes and Ricardo from Punta Pizzas.

Leguizamón's erratic tone in her last Facebook post may be linked to her reported mental health issues, though nothing can be said with certainty.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "help" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.