Sara Easton death investigation: Read the police, sheriff reports
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Instant Suspicion
Seven years after her death, police are questioning whether this California woman was murdered by her husband. Click the arrow below to read more about the death of Sara Easton and the investigation of her case.
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A 68-page death investigation report from the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office provides the first official look into law enforcement’s handling of the 2015 death of Sara Easton, wife of then-Marysville Police Chief Aaron Easton.
Sutter County provided the redacted records in response to a May 2021 Public Records Act request from The Sacramento Bee. The records, which have not been previously reported on, detail what officers saw in the early morning hours of Aug. 16, 2015, when they arrived at the Eastons’ Yuba City home. They also describe the steps investigators took early in the investigation, contain some of Aaron Easton’s account of what happened, and include a forensic pathologist’s description of Sara’s fatal wounds.
The records dispel several pieces of misinformation that have long circulated in the community — about the number of shots fired, the nature of Sara Easton’s wounds and the unresolved manner of death.
Sara Easton’s death has never officially been ruled a suicide or a homicide. The Department of Justice is the lead agency on the case and has said her death remains an active investigation.
An excerpt from the report is available below. Redactions were made by Sutter County.
Click here to download additional documents from the investigation.
Click here to read the full story on the irregularities and questions that remain around Sara Easton’s death.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhy did we report this story?
Sara Easton died of a gunshot wound early in the morning on Aug. 16, 2015. Her husband, Aaron Easton, Marysville’s police chief at the time, called 911 saying his wife — a 31-year-old mother of three — shot herself.
Though Aaron Easton continued to say her death was a suicide, doubts cropped up, both for her family and for some investigators. Her brothers, Johnny, Aaron and Jesse Matthews, have suffered for seven years, trying in vain to pry answers from the authorities.
But virtually no concrete news has emerged, and police have remained tight-lipped about her death. Until now, the most information the public has had about Sara Easton and the investigation came from unsubstantiated rumors and rampant gossip about sexual affairs, police incompetence and government cover-ups reaching all the way to the California Attorney General’s Office.
The 68-page death investigation records The Bee obtained in February marked the first chance for the public — including Sara’s family — to see any substantive facts about her death.
Where did the idea come from?
Monica Vaughan was the crime and courts reporter at the local paper when Sara died in 2015. Vaughan knew that a manner of death had not been issued, and she wanted to report on the story. However, the Appeal-Democrat never approved any significant follow-up. She said she never stopped thinking about the case, so she sent tips to The Sacramento Bee. In 2021, reporter Jason Pohl followed up on one of her tips, filing a Public Records Act request with the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office. In February 2022, the sheriff released the death investigation report, which included an autopsy report. These records finally shed some light on what had been a completely opaque investigation.
Then, when reached by The Bee, Sara’s brothers were highly receptive to participating in the reporting process. They wanted her death to receive more attention.
How did we report it?
Once reporters Pohl and Ariane Lange received the death investigation records in February, they began interviews in earnest. Between the two of them, they traveled to Yuba City and Marysville six times to meet sources and to pore over court records. All events depicted in this series are based on police reports, court records, autopsy documents, historical archives, news clippings, social media posts and on-the-record interviews. All told, reporters spoke with more than two dozen people for the story. All scene descriptions are based on photographs or recollections from people who were there or had direct knowledge of the situation.
Who did we speak to?
Sara’s family — particularly her brothers Johnny and Aaron Matthews — collectively gave hours of their time to answer questions about their sister and to offer their recollections of the investigation. Her sisters-in-law, especially Heather, provided valuable perspectives and corroborated some details. Oliver Easton, Sara’s oldest son, met with reporters multiple times. Eight of Sara’s old friends spoke to The Bee about what she was like as a person, as well as their observations of her relationship with her husband.
Sara’s mother, Joy Matthews, ultimately declined to speak with The Bee, though she did confirm that she, too, has suspicions of her son-in-law.
Reporters tried to contact as many investigators and prosecutors who worked on the case as possible. Many of them declined interview requests, but some, in their first public comments about the case, said they had — and have — suspicions that Sara was murdered. The Bee also talked to outside experts in forensic pathology, crime scene investigation and mental health to better understand the suggestive but inconclusive evidence mapped out in the death investigation.
Most of the investigators who were involved with the case at the local level deferred to the California Department of Justice, which has taken the lead on the death investigation. The Department of Justice repeatedly refused to answer basic questions about their investigation and the family’s concerns that justice may be denied for Sara’s death. The state declined to arrange a meeting with Attorney General Rob Bonta. A Department of Justice spokesperson who provided a vague statement refused to even provide their name.
Reporters also made multiple attempts over several months to speak with Aaron Easton. He did not comment on any part of this story.
This story was originally published November 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Sara Easton death investigation: Read the police, sheriff reports."
