Police investigating murder-suicide in Rodeo

RODEO, Calif. - Contra Costa Sheriff’s Deputies arrived at a home on Sandy Cove Drive in Rodeo and found a woman shot multiple times inside her car. 

The accused killer, her boyfriend, then shot himself, officials said.

Family identified the woman as 28-year-old Pansy Thongban.

Loved ones told KTVU Thongban was a talented pastry chef at the W Hotel in San Francisco and was on her way to work Wednesday afternoon when she was gunned down right in front on her house. 

“What I heard was the gunshots,” said neighbor Daryl Haller.

He was working in his driveway when the sound of gunfire drew his attention uphill.

“All a sudden, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop,” Haller said. “It was a little freaky, a little too close to home, a little unnerving.”

Deputies said they found a handgun at the scene and evidence that pointed to a murder-suicide.

They have not identified the gunman.

Family members said Thongban had been dating the alleged shooter for more than five years but that the relationship had recently turned rocky and she wanted to end it.

They said her boyfriend was waiting outside her house and confronted her in her car with a gun.

Investigators spent time talking with witnesses and other living at the home, including the victim’s mother, to identify a motive.

Family and friends are convinced rage led to the deadly showdown that no one in the neighborhood says they ever expected.

“It’s just sad that two individuals lost their life like that, died in the middle of the street. For who know why, “ said Holler. “It doesn’t really matter why, it’s just sad, very sad.”