Update: Woman shot to death by son ID’d by Fresno Sheriff’s Office in murder-suicide
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sheriff’s Office investigates Fowler shooting that left two adults and three dogs dead.
- Fowler PD surrounded home after family report of threats to mother, dogs, self.
- Officers used drone, entered when no response, found victims; case now murder-suicide.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office investigated a shooting Wednesday that left a man and a woman, along with several animals, dead in Fowler.
Officers with the Fowler Police Department responded at 6:30 p.m. to a home near Citrus and South avenues after a family member notified them that he was threatening to shoot his elderly mother, his dogs and himself.
Officers arrived and surrounded the house, issuing a call-out. No one responded at the door or by phone.
A drone was deployed to check for movement in and around the property.
Nothing was seen, and officers entered the home and found a man, a woman and three dogs dead from gunshot wounds. The woman was identified as 78-year-old Cheryl Hanoian, and the suspect was ID’d as her son, 60-year-old James McFarland.
Sheriff spokesperson Tony Botti said McFarland moved from New Mexico to live with Hanoian.
“There’s nothing glaring to us right now as to what may have led to something like this,” Botti said.
The case was turned over to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office and was being investigated as a murder-suicide.
This story was originally published October 16, 2025 at 11:26 AM.
