A married couple has pleaded guilty to killing a Clovis Unified School District educator who was severely beaten near a canal and died two days later, after the pair fled to Mexico and were tracked down with two children reported missing out of Tulare County. Misty Rose Gomez, 32, and her husband, Antonio Garcia, admitted to second-degree murder in the death of 37-year-old Geoffrey Bernardi, who worked as an AV design technician for school theater productions in the district.
According to SFGATE, Clovis police received a 911 call after midnight on Dec. 18, 2025, about an injured man, and officers found Bernardi badly beaten on a canal near Barstow and Peach avenues. He died of his injuries two days after being hospitalized. Bernardi and Gomez had met only a few months before his death on a dating app, per the same account.
Gomez is reported to face 15 years to life in prison, while one report states Garcia faces 16 years to life and another states both defendants each face 15 years to life in prison — the two outlets differ on Garcia's potential term. The Fresno Bee reports the 16-years-to-life figure for Garcia, while Law&Crime reports that both defendants face 15 years to life when sentenced in December. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 4, per the Fresno Bee.
A Daughter's Testimony Breaks the Case
Gomez's 12-year-old daughter testified Nov. 2 that her mother admitted she and Garcia had killed Bernardi, according to YourCentralValley. SFGATE and the Fresno Bee reported that Gomez told detectives Bernardi may have been attacked by a homeless person. Clovis police has not disclosed the suspected motive for the killing, though the Fresno Bee reports that the reason remained unclear even as testimony included an account that Gomez had borrowed money from Bernardi and he was angry she had not repaid it.
Gomez and Garcia fled to Mexico with two of Gomez's children after the killing, and U.S. Marshals arrested the couple there and recovered the missing children, who had been reported missing out of Dinuba in Tulare County. SFGATE describes a photograph of Gomez and Garcia taken after their arrest in Mexico at Oakland airport. Both were ultimately returned to Fresno County to face charges, according to ABC30, which reported that the pair entered guilty pleas Tuesday to second-degree murder.
A Mother's Grief and a Hidden Marriage
Bernardi's mother testified in November that her son did not know Gomez was married to Garcia, and the station notes she said Gomez was among the visitors at her son's hospital bedside in his final days. She also told KSEE that Bernardi hoped Gomez would become his future wife — a hope that came crashing down amid the revelation of her marriage and the violence that followed.
Bernardi's obituary described a man who loved family time, camping and the arts, and said that family gatherings would never be the same without him. He worked as a technical education teacher and an AV design tech who helped run theater productions for Clovis Unified.
California Penal Code § 190(a), per California Legislative Information, sets a base term of 15 years to life for second-degree murder, subject to certain statutory exceptions. The Fresno Bee reports Garcia faces 16 years to life.
