Trailblazing SFPD Deputy Chief and Daughter Gunned Down by Husband in Grisly Murder-Suicide

Marin County authorities say a retired San Francisco police sergeant fatally shot his estranged wife—a pioneering former deputy chief—and their adult daughter before turning the gun on himself in a suspected double murder-suicide at the family’s home Sunday evening.

Deputies from the Marin County Sheriff’s Office responded just after 5 p.m. on October 11 to multiple 911 calls reporting shots fired inside a residence on Strawberry Circle in the unincorporated community of Strawberry, east of Mill Valley and across the bay from San Francisco. Callers reported hearing six to nine gunshots. One family member who was inside locked themselves in a bedroom, then escaped by climbing out a window as deputies arrived.

Dispatch audio captured a frantic account identifying the shooter by name and noting he had been drinking red wine.

Inside the home, deputies found three people dead: Kevin Mannix, 68, a retired San Francisco Police Department sergeant; his wife, Ann Elizabeth Corriea Mannix, 65, a retired SFPD deputy chief; and their daughter, Katherine “Katie” Elizabeth Mannix, 24. A handgun was found near Kevin Mannix’s body. The preliminary investigation indicates Kevin Mannix shot his wife and daughter before killing himself.

Autopsies were scheduled for Tuesday, and the investigation remains active. Officials reported no ongoing threat to the community and said the home had no significant prior calls for service.

Ann Mannix was widely remembered as a trailblazer. She joined the SFPD in 1986 after managing a Toys “R” Us store and rose steadily through the ranks: lieutenant in 2003, captain in 2009, commander in 2015, and deputy chief in 2018. She became the first woman to join the department’s SWAT team and the first to lead it; she later headed both the Field Operations and Special Operations bureaus. Colleagues described her as a no-nonsense leader who broke barriers while remaining approachable.

She retired in 2021. A fourth-generation San Franciscan who grew up in the Jordan Park neighborhood, she was survived by two other adult children. Friends said she had recently spoken of seeking a divorce and appeared optimistic about the future.

Kevin Mannix served 27 years with the SFPD, including time at Taraval Station, before retiring as a sergeant in 2018. The couple’s marriage had reportedly been under strain. Katie Mannix, the youngest of their children, was studying to become a nurse.

ADVERTISEMENT

San Francisco Police Chief Derrick Lew confirmed the identities and described the incident as a murder-suicide. The San Francisco Police Officers Association called Ann Mannix a trailblazer whose loss, along with that of her daughter and Kevin, left the department “reeling,” adding there were “no words that can fully capture the depth of this tragedy.”

The Marin County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the sequence of events and any possible motive. The case has stunned the Bay Area law-enforcement community and the quiet waterfront neighborhood where the family lived.