Crime & Safety
Parole Board Decides Fate Of Petaluma Killer
A Petaluma man convicted of beating his wife to death in 1982 seeks parole for the 14th time.
PETALUMA, CA — A man who was convicted of beating his wife to death in 1982 has been denied parole for the 14th time, Sonoma County prosecutors said.
The California Board of Prison Terms again denied parole to Larry Richard Bunke, who was found guilty of second-degree murder after brutally beating his wife, Linda, leading to her death, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office said in a statement Monday.
Bunke and Linda lived in Petaluma before separating in May 1982. They had married and divorced once before.
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Ten days before Bunke killed his wife, the couple reportedly separated again. Authorities said Bunke moved out and stayed at his father's home in Roseville.
According to the investigation, Bunke tried to contact Linda by phone but was unable to. He drove to Petaluma and went to his wife's residence unannounced. Seeing she was not home, he broke in, hid his car in the garage, and waited for her, authorities said.
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When she arrived in the morning, Bunke reportedly confronted her, who immediately tried to flee, having been beaten by him in the past. As he pursued, she began screaming for help. A foot taller than Linda and outweighing her by 80 pounds, Bunke caught her and began hitting her with his fist to silence her. She then fell on the driveway and collapsed.
According to prosecutors, Bunke at first fled the scene, but came back shortly as he realized he had split his own hand open down to the bone after beating her so severely.
Authorities said Bunke carried Linda back into the house, and instead of giving aid to her, Bunke took a belt and continued to beat her with it as she was unconscious on the floor of the kitchen.
Afterwards, he called his father for help and said that he "beat her real bad."
Linda was hospitalized but never regained consciousness.
She died 5 days later of multiple traumatic head injuries.
Authorities said her facial bones had been broken, her lip was split to the bone, her skull had been fractured in numerous places, and her internal organs had multiple lacerations. Belt buckle welts were found all over her back.
According to the District Attorney's Office, the couple had two small children then, who were not at home during the killing of Linda.
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