{"id":494559,"date":"2026-10-13T10:18:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T10:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/494559\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T10:18:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T10:18:28","slug":"ex-bay-area-cop-was-happy-to-split-with-husband-before-murder-suicide-friend-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/494559\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Bay Area cop was \u2018happy\u2019 to split with husband before murder suicide, friend says"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Francisco\u2019s former deputy police chief was looking forward to a fresh start after deciding to divorce her husband \u2014 just two weeks before he shot her and their daughter dead <\/a>in their California home, a close friend has told the California Post.<\/p>\n

Ann Mannix, 65, and her daughter Katie, 24, were killed by retired police sergeant <\/a>Kevin Mannix, 68, at their Marin County home Sunday night before he turned the gun on himself.<\/p>\n

Ann\u2019s friend, local attorney Marie Hurabiell, said she was at a party with her just two weeks ago and she was \u201cin a great place\u201d following her split from Kevin.<\/p>\n

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From left, Katie Mannix, Kevin Mannix, and Ann Mannix pose for a photo. Former San Francisco Police Sergeant Kevin Mannix is suspected of shooting and killing his wife, former San Francisco Police Department Deputy Chief Ann Mannix, and their 25-year-old daughter before turning the gun on himself. Facebook\/@<\/p>\n

Ann Mannix is pictured in an undated file photo. Linkedin\/@AnnMannix<\/p>\n

\u201cShe did tell me she was getting divorced, and it was the best thing and she was looking forward to the future,\u201d Hurabiell told The Post.<\/p>\n

Hurabiell said she didn\u2019t know her husband well, but knew the relationship had been in a bad place for awhile. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe told me, as she was getting divorced, that she was so happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hurabiell remembered her friend as \u201cwarm, funny\u201d and a \u201cphenomenal\u201d leader who volunteered her time to public safety causes since retiring from SFPD in 2021, educating the community on police work.<\/p>\n

Sources told The Post the breakup took a toll on Kevin, suggesting he was a possessive ex who did not want his wife to move on. <\/p>\n

Former San Francisco Police Sergeant Kevin Mannix and his wife, former San Francisco Police Department Deputy Chief Ann Mannix, are pictured in an undated photo. Facebook\/@katie.mannix.5<\/p>\n

Former San Francisco Police Sergeant Kevin Mannix is pictured.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the only tragedy to hit SFPD in recent years. 40-year-old officer Chris Morris<\/a> died by suicide in his home in 2022 while under criminal investigation, and another officer, Rene Vig Nielsen, likewise took his life in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is heartbreaking news. Suicide, in all its devastating forms, has tragically become woven into the fabric of SFPD,\u201d one former SF cop told The Post.<\/p>\n

Retired San Francisco police captain Alexa O\u2019Brien, who worked alongside both Ann and Kevin, said Kevin was so quiet and mild-mannered that she never could have imagined him committing such violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was very, I don\u2019t know how to say it, but vanilla,\u201d O\u2019Brien said. \u201cThey were an interesting couple. She had to be like six inches taller than him, and he was little.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anybody was to look at a tough person, you\u2019d look at Ann as the tough one. That\u2019s just how I viewed them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katie Mannix is shown in an undated file photo. Facebook\/@katie.mannix.98<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien said Kevin\u2019s reserved personality stood in stark contrast to his wife\u2019s commanding presence as she climbed the ranks of the San Francisco Police Department.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not a Type A personality kind of guy,\u201d O\u2019Brien said. \u201cWhen he would talk to us police officers, or if I took a class and he spoke in the class, there wasn\u2019t anything that would strike me or give me any indication he would ever do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a good, easy temperament,\u201d she added. Ann\u2019s childhood friend was equally stunned by the killings. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine having that happen or doing that. So it caught me by surprise,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The two women had been inseparable since they were five years old, growing up across the street from each other in San Francisco\u2019s Richmond District.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were best friends. We were playmates. We learned everything together,\u201d the friend recalled.<\/p>\n

Children of former San Francisco Police Sgt. Kevin Mannix and former Deputy Chief Ann Mannix pose for a photo. Facebook\/@katie.mannix.5<\/p>\n

Their friendship endured for more than six decades, even after they moved to different states. They spoke about twice a week, and Ann last visited her over the summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went to dinner. We have a pool, so we swam. We just hung out and just kind of spent time together,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She remembered Ann as a caring, intelligent and strong woman with a sharp sense of humor and an athletic streak that had been evident since childhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was super athletic. She always did everything better than me growing up. She was funny, you know. She was very civic-minded,\u201d the friend said.<\/p>\n

Above all, she remembered Ann as a devoted mother who had been looking forward to becoming a grandmother.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a wonderful mother. She had high hopes of being a grandmother soon,\u201d the friend said. \u201cYou know, she was a friend to everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katie, who was also killed in the shooting, was studying to become a nurse and shared her mother\u2019s passion for helping others.<\/p>\n

\u201cKatie was fun, silly, the life of the party,\u201d the friend recalled.<\/p>\n

The Mannix family home where the murder suicide took place. abc7<\/p>\n

Ann had spent much of her retirement educating community members about police work and remained deeply involved in civic affairs.<\/p>\n

She was also remembered as a trailblazer for women in law enforcement, having joined the San Francisco Police Department in the 1980s, when relatively few women served on the force.<\/p>\n

She became the first woman to join the department\u2019s SWAT team and later the first woman to lead it.<\/p>\n

Ann rose to deputy chief of the Field Operations Bureau in 2018 and took charge of the Special Operations Bureau the following year, according to department records.<\/p>\n

Ann\u2019s friends described her as a trusted mentor and a funny, loyal and caring mother who was settling into a fun-filled retirement of travel, hobbies and volunteering. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe was someone you could call for anything, anytime,\u201d said Megan McTiernan, who had just enjoyed the Blue Angels air show<\/a> with Ann on Saturday. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was someone with a deep history of service in the city \u2026 living a full retirement life she earned after decades in the department,\u201d McTiernan said. \u201cShe was a gift to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kevin, meanwhile, retired from the department in June 2018 after 27 years of service.<\/p>\n

In a farewell letter published by Taraval Station the following month, he reflected on the friendships he had developed throughout his career and his plans to spend more time with family and friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cI leave the SFPD, but I am taking your friendships with me forever,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

The deadly shooting unfolded Sunday evening at the family\u2019s home on Strawberry Circle in Strawberry, an affluent unincorporated community east of Mill Valley.<\/p>\n

Marin County sheriff\u2019s deputies were dispatched to the residence after receiving a report of gunfire at 5:03 p.m., according to the sheriff\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

Deputies arrived within minutes and contacted the caller, who had safely escaped the home. After securing the perimeter, authorities entered the residence and discovered three people dead inside.<\/p>\n

Detectives continued investigating the scene Sunday night. \u201cThere is no known threat to the community,\u201d the sheriff\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n

San Francisco Police Chief Derrick Lew notified department personnel of the deaths Sunday night, writing that he was sharing the devastating news \u201cwith heavy hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease keep their family in your prayers. BSU is available to all members who may need it during this difficult time,\u201d Lew wrote, referring to the department\u2019s behavioral science unit.<\/p>\n

The San Francisco Police Officers Association also mourned the family\u2019s deaths.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tragic loss of retired Deputy Chief Ann Mannix, her daughter Katie, and retired Sergeant Kevin Mannix in a suspected murder-suicide has left our entire SFPD family reeling,\u201d the union said in a statement.<\/p>\n

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said: \u201cI am deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of retired SFPD Deputy Chief Ann Mannix and her daughter, Katie.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeputy Chief Mannix dedicated decades of her life to serving San Francisco. She was a trailblazer in the police department, becoming the first woman to join and lead the SWAT team and rising to lead both the Field Operations and Special Operations Bureaus.\u201d<\/p>\n

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