Santa Rosa Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Domestic-Violence Murder

Tunoa Radaiga Meo, 54 years old, of Santa Rosa, was sentenced today, by the Honorable Kenneth English. Meo’s sentencing follows the conclusion of a jury trial earlier this year in which he was convicted of first-degree murder stemming from an incident on July 4, 2023, in which he killed his wife, Marica Mara. Meo was sentenced to serve a term in the state prison of 1 year plus 25-years-to-life in prison.

District Attorney Rodriguez stated, “While nothing can replace the loss suffered by Ms. Marica Mara’s family, I am thankful that the defendant has been held accountable under the law. This senseless act of violence serves as a reminder that domestic violence occurs in Sonoma County. We will continue to hold abusers accountable, while working to prevent domestic violence murders from happening in the future.”

The charges resulted from an incident that occurred on July 4, 2023, in Santa Rosa. At that time, Meo and Marica Mara were married, and living in an apartment on McBride Lane. There had been escalating tension in their relationship, and on the morning of July 4th, Meo and Marica argued about things such as Meo wanting to join Marica and a family member out at the coast that day, and Meo being irresponsible with money. After Meo left their apartment, Marica threw some of his clothing from their balcony. Soon after she did so, Meo returned to their second story apartment, grabbed a chef’s knife with a 7 3/4-inch blade from a kitchen drawer, and proceeded to the living room where Marica was standing. Meo stabbed Marica repeatedly, causing her to suffer multiple stab wounds that were inflicted with so much force the knife penetrated her bones. Marica died approximately an hour after the attack despite life-saving attempts by emergency personnel. Meo was arrested soon after was charged with her murder.

Jury selection began at the end of April 2026, and in early May, jurors heard testimony and reviewed evidence over the course of one week. After hearing closing arguments, the jury found Meo guilty of first-degree murder and further found true an allegation that he personally used a deadly weapon during the commission of the offense.

At today’s sentencing, Marica Mara’s family members, who reside in Fiji, addressed the court through video victim impact statements they prepared. Marica’s 81-year-old mother, her sister, and her 5 children all explained how they have been impacted by the murder, and the loss they have felt by no longer having their mother, sister, and daughter in their lives. At the time of sentencing, in acknowledging what was conveyed in the victim impact statements, Judge English discussed how Meo had stolen the love of a mother from her children.

Although Meo received a sentence of 1 year plus 25-years-to-life in prison, in light of the passage of Proposition 57 in 2016, CDCR guidelines now allow violent felons and offenders sentenced to an indeterminate “life” term to reduce their sentences by 33% before first becoming eligible for parole consideration. With Meo’s sentence of 1 year plus 25-years-to-life in prison, and accounting for the 3 years Meo has been in custody since his arrest in 2023, it’s anticipated Meo will first become eligible for parole consideration after serving approximately 15 actual years in prison.

The case was prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Andrew Lukas, assisted by District Attorney Investigator Dave Linscomb. Detective Brooke Clark of the Santa Rosa Police Department’s Violent Crimes Team headed the investigation.

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