2 bodies found in rural Petaluma home, deaths appear ‘suspicious’

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the deaths of two people at a rural home in west Petaluma after finding their bodies Monday afternoon while conducting a welfare check at the request of a family member.

Detectives went to the property in the 4700 block of Roblar Road, about a half-mile west of Dunham Elementary School in west Petaluma shortly after the 2:30 p.m. call of a woman who said she had not heard from her sister or her sister’s husband in about a month, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The woman had previously gone to her relatives’ home to check on them and noticed excessively tall grass and mail piling up in the mailbox.

The home is owned by Terri Lynn Edington, 56, and Mark Allen Edington, 60, according to voter registration records.

A Sheriff’s Office spokesman said the bodies, which were decomposing for at least a couple weeks, appear to be that of a man and a woman, but he could not confirm names Monday evening.

“We do believe it’s most likely the sister and her husband, but we’re not going to confirm it until we make a positive identification,” said Sgt. Spencer Crum. “There’s nothing to indicate otherwise that it’s anybody else in there.”

Detectives from the sheriff’s violent crimes unit and the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office determined the deaths to be “suspicious in nature,” though Crum indicated it did not appear to be drug related in light of the recent spate of marijuana home invasions and burglaries in the county.

“There’s nothing obvious that’s screaming marijuana to us,” he said. “We’re going to treat it like a homicide until we can say that it’s not. It doesn’t appear to be natural deaths.”

Two dogs that were unable to get outside were discovered in the home, one of which died.

A pathologist was scheduled to visit the property at the corner of Orchard Station Road late Monday to try and determine a cause of death before the bodies are removed today.

Detectives will return today to continue processing the scene.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at 707-565-2121.