Identity of couple found dead in Santa Rosa home released

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Thursday released the names of the two probable homicide victims found dead inside a Santa Rosa home.

They were identified as Eric Nance, 50, of Santa Rosa, and Melany Texeira, 44, also of Santa Rosa, and a Santa Rosa Police Department spokesperson said they were boyfriend and girlfriend.

They were discovered by authorities about 9 a.m. Wednesday inside a Bennett Valley home in the 1500 block of Woodlake Drive. A relative had requested police do a welfare check on the couple.

They were found in the living room and a gun was discovered nearby, according to Sgt. Chris Mahurin. Each person had suffered a gunshot wound, he said.

Police are investigating the deaths as homicides and are looking into the motive behind the deaths, including whether they were the result of a murder-suicide.

Mahurin said there’s no history of calls for police assistance at the home. Other details were not immediately available.

There have been 20 homicides in Sonoma County this year, and 12 of them took place in Santa Rosa. That includes Wednesday’s double fatality.

Staff Writer Colin Atagi contributed to this report.

You can reach Staff Writer Kathleen Coates at 707-521-5209 or kathleen.coates@pressdemocrat.com.