Police: Gun discovered next to couple found dead in Petaluma home

Police believe one of two people found dead of apparent gunshot wounds next to a revolver in south Petaluma pulled the trigger, adding a measure of clarity to a case that authorities have been investigating as a homicide.

The Sonoma County Coroner’s Office on Wednesday identified the pair as spouses Harley King, 66, and Dixie King, 79.

Investigators believe one of the Kings fired the gun, Petaluma Police Lt. Tim Lyons said on Wednesday, revealing new details in the department’s first homicide investigation of the year.

The revelation sheds new light on what might have happened on Del Sol Way, a quiet, one-block neighborhood street near Del Oro Park, where neighbors on Monday expressed shock and confusion at the news.

“They were both really nice people,” said one woman, who asked to remain anonymous. “It was a real shock.”

Harley’s brother, Howard King, arrived at the residence about 9 a.m. Monday, but declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

Police arrived at 3:05 p.m. Saturday to the home in the 1200 block of Del Sol Way after family reported they hadn’t heard from the couple for more than a week.

Officers forced their way into the house, and, once inside, they found two residents dead next to a handgun that “appeared to have been recently fired,” according to police.

Lyons said the couple was found in the same room, and he described the handgun as a revolver.

This is the first homicide investigation for the Petaluma Police Department since detectives probed a murder-suicide in October 2020, one of two such cases that year, Lyons said.

The couple found Saturday was in their 60s, was quiet, and kept to themselves, said a neighbor who has lived near them for about 30 years.

Another neighbor said the couple’s July 29 edition of the Argus-Courier remained on their driveway as police descended on the house this past weekend.

As many as eight police vehicles arrived outside the home Saturday, the neighbor said, marking an unusual scene for the suburban street that dead ends at Petaluma’s Del Oro Park.

“This is basically a very quiet neighborhood,” the neighbor added.

Lyons said police had not been called to the house before Saturday.

The first neighbor said the man was a retired longshoreman, who suffered an injury on the job, and the woman retired after a career working for AAA. She would garden sometimes. They took occasional walks together, the neighbor said, adding that the man had recently started using a cane.

The first neighbor expressed disbelief at the apparent conclusions police have drawn about the case.

“It doesn’t fit anything about who they are,” the neighbor said.

Press Democrat reporter Matt Pera contributed to this report.