SONOMA—According to court records, it shows there was a domestic partnership between Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office employees, Deputy Jeremy Lyle and Detention Specialist Mari Bonnici, from April 2024 to November 2024, lasting approximately seven months. But Bonnici dissolved the domestic partnership on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, citing irreconcilable differences.
Lyle had a history of being abusive. She gained sole custody of their three young children with Lyle getting only visitation rights and no overnight visits.
On Sunday, August 10, 2025 at about 7 p.m., while off-duty, Lyle shot Bonnici in her Santa Rosa apartment complex on the 4,600 block of Quigg Drive. He gave his infant child to a neighbor, telling her Bonnici needed 911 because she was hurt. Police found Bonnici on the living room couch with at least one gunshot wound. Their unharmed twin toddlers were found in a back room. The three children are now being cared for by relatives.
Around 7:32 p.m. Lyle’s truck was located at the Sonoma County’s Coroner Office at 3336 Chanate Road. They found him standing on the truck bed with a handgun hidden behind him. Although officers tried getting him to peacefully surrender, using the SWAT team and hostage negotiators, a five-hour stand-off ensued until August 11, 2025 at 2 a.m. when he committed suicide from a single self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The whole Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office is now in mourning since the recent events.
If you or you know someone in crisis, please reach out to the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting to 988. You can visit www.SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for more support.
If you or you know someone experiencing domestic violence, please contact The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE(7233) visit www.hotline.org or text LOVEIS to 22522.
