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The story has been updated with a comment from the chief public defender.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A judge has ordered a Kelseyville man to stand trial for killing his wife in January with a hammer.
Following a Thursday morning preliminary hearing, Judge John Langan ruled that Travis Ryan Bonson, 46, will be held to answer to charges of first-degree murder, aggravated mayhem and assault with a deadly weapon, in this case, a hammer.
Bonson is facing trial for the January murder of his wife of 22 years, Ayano Bonson, 44.
Tom Feimer, the chief public defender who was appointed to be Travis Bonson’s attorney, said his office “is committed to providing Mr. Bonson with a full defense against the charges.”
Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the couple’s Single Spring Drive home in Kelseyville on Jan. 16 in response to a call from Travis Bonson. He told deputies he assaulted his wife.
Ayano Bonson died at an out-of-county hospital four days later, authorities reported.
Travis Bonson is a registered sex offender as the result of a 2012 felony conviction for committing lewd or lascivious acts on a child under age 14, court records and the Megan’s Law website show.
On Thursday morning, before the preliminary hearing began, Deputy District Attorney Nicholas Rotow informed the court that the District Attorney’s Office was adding another special circumstance to the murder complaint, specifically, lying in wait.
Rotow told Lake County News that the new special allegation is the result of additional research he has done on the case relating to Travis Bonson’s actions.
“He waited until she was asleep and then bashed her in the head with a hammer,” said Rotow, noting Travis Bonson hit his wife once with the weapon.
There was strong evidence, based on how Ayano Bonson was situated, that she was asleep when she was assaulted, Rotow said.
In this case, the lying in wait enhancement is not hiding and waiting for someone in the traditional sense, Rotow explained. Rather, it involves an act that takes advantage of a period of weakness.
Rotow said Travis Bonson waiting for his wife to fall asleep was a form of lying in wait.
Judge Langan held Bonson to answer on all of the counts, including the new lying in wait special allegation, Rotow said.
With that additional allegation, Rotow said it changes the possible prison time for Bonson from 50 years to life to life without the possibility of parole if convicted.
It would also technically make him eligible for the death penalty, as lying in wait is one of the special circumstances in California that can lead to capital punishment upon conviction.
However, Rotow said Thursday afternoon that he hadn’t yet spoken to the DA’s Office leadership about pursuing the death penalty, and “it’s unlikely” that they would.
Rotow said he has no theory of why Bonson killed his wife. He described their relationship, based on the investigation, as “messy and complicated” at the very minimum, but added there appeared to be no single act, incident or other issue that triggered Travis Bonson and led him to commit the killing.
At the Thursday hearing, a bail hearing was held and Rotow successfully argued for Bonson to remain in custody in the Lake County Jail without bail.
“He’s not getting out,” Rotow said.
Bonson will return to court on April 14 for arraignment, Rotow said.
“We should be setting a trial on that date,” he said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.com. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.
