Bonnie Hale, 76, of North Fork
NORTH FORK — On Saturday morning, Dec. 17, Madera County Sheriff’s deputies were called to a residence on Road 225 near North Fork after a man found his mother deceased on her front porch. According to the MCSO, the initial investigation revealed that the woman had injuries and had apparently been in some type of altercation.
At about the same time deputies were also dispatched to a welfare check of another woman who lived nearby and was showing signs of having been in a physical fight, say authorities.
Sheriff’s detectives were called to the scene and began a homicide investigation. Evidence gathered at both locations indicated that the deceased female had been killed by the other woman.
Mary O’Keefe, 63, of North Fork
The victim has been identified as Bonnie Hale, 76, of North Fork. Detectives arrested Mary O’Keefe, 63, of North Fork for murder and she was booked into the Madera County Department of Corrections on Saturday evening.
An autopsy will be conducted this week to determine exactly how the victim died. The murder investigation is on-going while detectives are gathering more evidence and trying to determine the sequence of events leading up to the death.
This is the fourth murder case in the Eastern Madera County area this year according to the Madera County Sheriff’s Office. Arrests have been made in three of the cases so far.
