Slain woman had told friends of abuse

Before police cars raced into their tidy neighborhood in east Petaluma on Saturday night, residents along McNeil Avenue knew little about Kenneth and Buapha Mullenix and their two daughters, who lived in the only two-story home on the block.

But by Monday allegations began to surface about domestic violence that led to homicide. And what emerged was a portrait of a troubled marriage and an immigrant isolated in her new country.

By Monday, police confirmed that Buapha Mullennix, 36, was dead and her husband in jail on suspicion of her killing.

Co-workers of Buapha Mullennix said they tried to get her to report to police the physical abuse she said her husband inflicted upon her. An optimistic woman who was always smiling, Mullennix refused to contact police, they said.

"I called a 1-800 number for a shelter and tried to make a report about the abuse," said Irene Martinez Henley, 38, who worked with Mullennix at the Teriyaki House on East Washington Street. "A lady (on the phone) said she had to call herself, she has to accept she needs help."

But Mullennix never reached out to police or another agency for help, Henley said.

Mullennix's husband called 911 at about 10 p.m. Saturday and told a dispatcher he had just shot his wife, police said.

Officers arrived at the home and called to Kenneth Mullennix, 49, to come outside, said Lt. Mike Cook of the Petaluma Police Department.

The suspect stepped out of the front door and was "cooperative," Cook said. Officers found his wife inside dead with a single gunshot wound. There was no sign of a struggle, Cook said. Officers found the handgun they believed was used.

Officers took the couple's daughters, 10 and 18, into protective custody.

Mullennix's husband was taken without incident to the city police station for questioning and then booked into Sonoma County Jail without bail. He is scheduled to appear today in Sonoma County Superior Court to be arraigned on a homicide charge.

Detectives are now trying to piece together what led to the shooting. They sent blood samples to a lab to be tested for alcohol and drugs.

"We don't have a lot of information about them," Cook said. "There's no documented history of domestic violence, no (police) response calls to the house."

The slain woman had grown up near the coast of Thailand two hours from Bangkok, said her boss, Kam Vongphrachanh, 50, who owns Teriyaki House. She met her husband while he was living in Thailand and working in construction at a golf course, Vongphrachanh said.

She married Kenneth Mullennix in Thailand and they and her daughter from a previous marriage moved to California before the couple's 10-year-old daughter was born. They lived in Marin and then moved to Petaluma a few years ago, Vongphrachanh said.

Mullennix walked into Teriyaki House about a year ago to ask for work, Vongphrachanh said. He gave her a job working the register during the 5 to 9 p.m. shift. Mullennix "never missed a day of work" and "she liked to befriend customers," Vongphrachanh said.

Mullennix told Vongphrachanh and Henley that she had frequent fights with her husband, especially when he drank, they said. She said her husband didn't like it when she left the house.

"She had to fight a lot: to get a driver's license, to go out of the house, to get a job," Vongphrachanh said. "This was her first job in the U.S.; I'm her first boss."

The couple lived on her husband's income from his independent contracting business and she sent the money she earned at Teriyaki House to her elderly parents and five siblings in Thailand, Vongphrachanh said.

Kenneth Mullennix conducted business under the name KM Construction from his home, according to license records.

A few months ago, Mullennix told her friends that her husband had kicked her down the stairs, they said. She later told them that her husband had killed one of their German shepherds and then felt guilty and bought her a puppy.

Henley's husband, Jay Henley, said he tried to talk with Kenneth Mullennix about his drinking and the way he treated his wife.

"I said, 'You guys got kids,' and I even got tough with him and said, 'You can't be blind, it's just not working,' " he said. "He listened to it, but he was drunk most of time. Talking to a drunk person is like talking to a wall."

Mullennix was shy about speaking English and said she thought police would just ignore her report, Henley said.

"I said, 'No, tell police you need someone who speaks your language,' " Henley said.

At Teriyaki House on Monday afternoon, Vongphrachanh made spicy papaya salad, Mullennix's favorite, to place before an altar he's building to help Mullinnix's spirit leave Earth and head to heaven, he said.

"Just Friday I said 'good-bye Buapha, see you Monday.' I can't believe that I won't see her forever," Vongphrachanh said. "This is a message to everyone, no matter where you came from, you have to report to police."

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com.