An 80-year-old Carmel man has pleaded no contest to killing his wife, closing in on a grim case that began with his own 911 call last summer. He now faces a potential sentence of 20 years to life in prison when he appears in court on July 10. The criminal case stems from a July 24, 2025 call in which he told dispatchers he had killed his wife and then stabbed himself.
Prosecutors say Donel Mark Geisen entered a no-contest plea to second-degree murder with the use of a knife and to felony domestic violence. The Monterey County District Attorney's Office announced the plea, according to SFGATE.
Deputies responding to the morning 911 call on July 24, 2025, found Geisen suffering from multiple self-inflicted stab wounds and his 78-year-old wife, Barbara Lynn Geisen, dead inside their Carmel home, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Barbara Geisen was pronounced dead at the scene, and investigators had not released a motive, the Chronicle reported.
Geisen was taken to Natividad Medical Center in Salinas for treatment and later, prosecutors say, admitted to murdering his wife before attempting to kill himself, according to KSBW. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office identified the location of the incident as the High Meadows neighborhood near the 3700 block of Raymond Way.
What the plea means
A no-contest plea, or nolo contendere, does not require the defendant to formally admit guilt but is treated like a guilty plea for criminal sentencing. California case law explains how that kind of plea can affect later civil claims, as discussed by the state Supreme Court in FindLaw. Judges still must accept the plea in open court and may require a factual basis before approving it in felony cases.
Geisen is scheduled to be sentenced on July 10, 2026, in Monterey County Superior Court, prosecutors said. The district attorney's office has not released a motive, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, and the case remains under active investigation, according to SFGATE.
