Exclusive | Secret marital strife between top San Francisco cops before horrific murder-suicide as family friend speaks out

San Francisco’s former deputy police chief and her husband had a turbulent marriage before he shot her and their daughter dead, a close family friend told the California Post.Ann Mannix, 65, and Katie, 24, were killed by Kevin Mannix, 68, at their Marin County home Sunday evening, before he turned the gun on himself.A close family friend who had known Ann for more than 60 years said the former top cop had revealed to her that there were difficulties in her marriage.“We talked about her relationship with her husband,” the friend said.“It wasn’t great.” But as far as the friend knew, Ann and Kevin were not estranged.The friend said she never imagined their lives would end this way.

“I can’t imagine having that happen or doing that.So it caught me by surprise.”She remembered Ann as a devoted mother who hoped to become a grandmother soon.

“She was a wonderful mother.She had high hopes of being a grandmother soon,” the friend said.

“You know, she was a friend to everybody.”The two met when they were five and lived across the street from each other in San Francisco’s Richmond District.“We were best friends.We were playmates.

We learned everything together,” she said.Their friendship endured across decades and states.They spoke about twice a week, and Ann last visited the friend in the summer.“We went to dinner.

We have a pool, so we swam.We just hung out and just kind of spent time together,” she recalled.She described Ann as caring, smart and strong, with a sense of humor and athletic ability that stood out from childhood.“She was super athletic.

She always did everything better than me growing up.She was funny, you know.

She was very civic-minded.”Katie, who was also killed, was studying to become a nurse.She shared her mother’s desire to help others, the friend said.

“Katie was fun, silly, the life of the party.”Deputies were dispatched to the home on Strawberry Circle after a 5:03 p.m.call reporting gunfire, accor...