A California dad got $1,000 bail in a domestic violence case, and now he’s accused of killing his wife as their three kids reportedly saw part of it

A Northern California father is accused of fatally stabbing his wife at their home while he was free on $1,000 bail in a pending domestic violence case involving her. Thomas John Iovenitti, 40, of Concord, has been charged with murder in the death of Alisha Iovenitti, 39, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, as reported by KION.

The attack happened just after 8 p.m. on October 23 at the family’s home in the 2300 block of Panoramic Drive. A 911 caller reported a disturbance between a man and a woman and said the man was armed with a knife. Officers tried several times to reach someone inside before forcing their way in, and they found both Alisha and Thomas Iovenitti with stab wounds.

Paramedics tried to save Alisha, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Thomas Iovenitti was taken to a local hospital, and authorities have not described the extent of his injuries. The couple’s three children, nine-year-old twins and a 10-year-old son, were in the home, and authorities believe they witnessed part of the attack, according to The Mercury News.

Prosecutors say they objected when a judge set his bail at $1,000

Iovenitti had been arrested on May 9 in connection with an earlier incident involving his wife. Prosecutors initially charged him with assault with a deadly weapon, assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, corporal injury to a spouse, and false imprisonment. At a May 19 hearing, a judge set his bail at $1,000 over the objections of the DA’s office.

As part of his release, the court issued stay-away orders barring Iovenitti from contacting his wife or returning to the family’s home. Prosecutors allege that he was still out of custody on bail in that case when the October attack took place. It is not clear how he came to be at the house that night, and authorities have not addressed it publicly.

On October 27, prosecutors filed a murder charge along with a felony count of dissuading a witness from reporting a crime. He also faces three misdemeanor child endangerment counts tied to the night of the stabbing. The May incident now carries felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon and corporal injury to a spouse, along with a misdemeanor child endangerment count.

Iovenitti also faces a misdemeanor count of violating a court order. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 29 years to life in state prison. He is being held without bail at the Martinez Detention Facility, and his arraignment was scheduled at the Contra Costa County Superior Court annex in Martinez. He has not entered a plea in the murder case.

The case gained wider national attention this week after prosecutors highlighted the bail decision from May. It also echoes another one from last month in Texas, where a Border Patrol agent allegedly stabbed his wife months after he was arrested in a separate domestic disturbance.

Jennifer Curry launched a GoFundMe for the three children on November 3. She says they are being cared for by their grandmother, their aunt, and Alisha’s best friend, and that a trustee will manage the money for housing, medical care, food, clothing, transportation, and a long-term education fund. The fundraiser had raised more than $70,000 as of this week.

According to the fundraiser, the family is working to give the children “a stable home, counseling, and routines” that feel normal again. However, prosecutors have not said whether the children will be asked to testify, and the judge who set the original bail has not been publicly named.

Iovenitti is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and his next court date could shed more light on the evidence prosecutors plan to use in both cases.