Woman and Husband Accused of Murdering Her Lover, a Beloved Teacher — Leaving 2 Kids Stranded in Mexico

Geoffrey Bernardi was found severely beaten near a California canal and died less than two days later

U.S. Marshals arrested Misty Gomez and Antonio Garcia in Mexico following an eight-month investigation

The suspects are married, police say, but Gomez was also Bernardi's girlfriend

A married couple accused of killing the wife's boyfriend were arrested in Mexico following an eight-month investigation into the California teacher's fatal beating.

Antonio Garcia, 40, and his wife, Misty Gomez, 32, were taken into custody on Aug. 19 and extradited to California in connection with the December 2025 death of 37-year-old Geoffrey Bernardi, the Clovis Police Department announced .

Police said Gomez was dating Bernardi while married to Garcia. Investigators identified the couple as suspects after uncovering evidence and communications between them, according to the department.

Bernardi was found apparently severely beaten and alone near a canal shortly before 1 a.m. on Dec. 18, 2025, police said in an earlier release. He was transported to a hospital, where he died less than two days later.

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Bernardi's mother, Erin Adams, told ABC30 that her son had been dating Gomez for only a few months and did not know she was married.

"The first time he went out with her, he told me, 'I met the woman I'm going to marry,'" Adams recalled. "We didn't know she was already married."

Adams alleged that Gomez called her on the night of the attack to say Bernardi had been severely beaten, then joined the family at his hospital bedside the following day.

"She lay on his bed and wept and said, 'We have to find who did this to him,'" Adams told the outlet. "And, you know, she was playing a game. She was watching our grief."

Adams said her son had been beaten "beyond recognition" and died just weeks before his 38th birthday. She also claimed the family suspected Gomez was involved within two days of the attack.

By January, police had determined that the assault was not random and identified a person of interest, ABC30 reported. Authorities ultimately used unspecified technology to track Gomez and Garcia to Mexico, where police said they had been hiding for months.

Gomez fled the country with her two daughters from previous relationships, who had been reported missing from Dinuba in April, police said. The girls' families told ABC30 that the children, ages 9 and 12, remain in the custody of Mexico's National System for Integral Family Development in Michoacán as their relatives work to bring them home.

Garcia and Gomez were initially booked into the Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County before being transferred Monday to the Fresno County Jail, according to ABC30. A criminal complaint obtained by the outlet accuses both defendants of murdering Bernardi "with malice aforethought."

Bernardi worked in career technical education for the Clovis Unified School District. According to his obituary, he was an experienced stagehand and sound technician who loved theater, music and the arts. In recent years, he worked as an AV design technician, helping run the theater for Clovis Unified productions.

"He was growing in a job he loved, working with people he loved," the obituary said. "He was happy and thriving."

Both defendants' bail was initially set at $1 million, ABC30 reported.