DA to Review Details of Baucom Conover Murder

The Sonoma County District Attorney’s office will conduct a domestic violence review inquiry into the death of Kim Baucom, the Petaluma teacher and mother of four who was killed by her husband Kevin Conover in April, the Argus Courier is reporting.

The review is considered standard procedure because the 43-year-old Baucom requested a temporary emergency protection order from the District Attorney's office. The order was rejected by Judge Virginia Marcoida, who cited insufficient evidence of imminent danger, however she did schedule a follow up hearing. But before the hearing could take place, Baucom was killed April 16 after leaving her attorney's office.

Judge Marcoida has refused interview requests, although Supervising Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Renee Chateau has said he believed Marcoida made her decision based on the information available at the time.

The goal of the review, the results of which are confidential, is to study Baucom’s case and make recommendations in order to avoid future similar incidents.

“If we sit back and say we handled this one perfectly, then we are not being honest with ourselves,” Petaluma police officer Paul Gilman, the lead detective on the case, told the Argus. “We need to be ready to go in and be open to a lot of constructive criticism so we can learn from our mistakes.”

Baucom, a popular teacher at Meadow Elementary, left behind four children, including 21-month-old twins. She was the second Petaluma woman killed in a domestic violence-related incident over the past three years.

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