Tatyana McIntyre was found dead at her ex-boyfriend’s home after relatives became alarmed when she missed a school pickup.

FRESNO, Calif. — A missing-person report involving a mother of seven turned into a homicide investigation within about a day after Fresno police traced her last known location to her ex-boyfriend’s home, searched the property and found her dead inside. The ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Vernon Michaels, later surrendered and has pleaded not guilty to murder.

The investigation began Aug. 4 after relatives could not reach 30-year-old Tatyana McIntyre, who was also known as Alison Riley. Police said she had failed to pick up one of her daughters from school, breaking a routine that quickly alarmed her family. Officers initially searched several locations in Fresno before investigators with the department’s Domestic Violence Unit determined that McIntyre’s last known location was a residence in the 5700 block of East Grove Avenue. Records cited by local television station KFSN identified Michaels as the owner of the home. Family members said McIntyre had gone there to see the two children she shared with Michaels.

Detectives obtained a search warrant for the East Grove Avenue property and went inside the following day. Police found McIntyre dead at the residence and reported that she had suffered several lacerations, including wounds to her upper body. Investigators also found evidence indicating that a disturbance had taken place inside the home. Authorities did not immediately describe the full sequence of events that led to her death, and Fresno Police Chief Mindy Casto said investigators had not determined a motive. Early reporting also indicated that detectives were still looking for the weapon they believed had been used.

The search for McIntyre had already produced another important piece of the investigation away from the house. She had been driving a rental vehicle when she disappeared, according to her family. The vehicle was later located abandoned in an orchard, with belongings associated with McIntyre still inside. Local reporting described surveillance footage that appeared to show the rental traveling toward the orchard during the afternoon of Aug. 4. Those developments gave investigators another route to reconstruct her movements between her arrival at the Grove Avenue residence and the discovery of the vehicle later that day.

McIntyre’s relatives told local reporters that they last heard from her around midday on Aug. 4, near the period when she arrived at Michaels’ residence. Her phone was also reported to have registered near the home before service was lost. Family members began searching and communicating with police after the missed school pickup deepened their concern. What began as an effort to locate a woman who had unexpectedly stopped responding therefore narrowed quickly to a specific address, a vehicle left in an orchard and the final known hours before McIntyre was found dead.

By the time police searched the East Grove Avenue home, Michaels was no longer there. Authorities said he had left the Fresno area. Police later located him in the broader Salinas area and communicated with him as investigators sought his return. Casto said Michaels ultimately came back to Fresno and arrived at police headquarters at about 11 p.m. Aug. 6. Jail records cited in local reporting showed he was booked early the next morning on suspicion of murder. The surrender ended the immediate search for the man police had identified as the suspect, but it did not resolve the questions surrounding McIntyre’s death.

Michaels, 39, later missed two scheduled arraignment appearances while being held in the Fresno County Jail. Jail officials told local media that he was housed in an observation cell, a setting used when staff are monitoring an inmate for safety concerns. On Aug. 17, Michaels appeared in court with public defender Marina Pincus and pleaded not guilty to murder. Senior Deputy District Attorney Adam Christopherson said that, if convicted of the charges described at that stage of the case, Michaels could face a prison term of 26 years to life. A criminal charge is an accusation, and Michaels is presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the case against him.

The case expanded again later in August. The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said Michaels’ father, Jeffrey William Michaels, had also been arrested on suspicion of being an accessory in connection with McIntyre’s death. The elder Michaels subsequently posted bond, according to KFSN. Authorities did not publicly disclose in that report all of the conduct they allege formed the basis for the accessory arrest. His involvement adds a second criminal inquiry to a case that initially centered on what police believe happened inside the East Grove Avenue residence.

McIntyre’s family has also described a history of concerns involving her relationship with Michaels. Her mother told KMPH that McIntyre had previously described domestic violence, including allegations that Michaels had choked her and prevented her from leaving a residence. Her mother said such incidents had been reported to police. Other reporting said McIntyre had sent her mother a message expressing fear about what might happen to her and identifying Michaels if she were harmed. Those accounts are part of the family’s description of the relationship and do not by themselves establish what occurred on Aug. 4.

The distinction is important because investigators have released only part of the evidence they believe supports the murder charge. Police have publicly described McIntyre’s last known location, the discovery of her body, the condition of the residence, the abandoned vehicle and Michaels’ departure from Fresno and eventual surrender. But authorities have not publicly provided a complete minute-by-minute account of the killing, announced a confirmed motive or explained in detail how each piece of physical or digital evidence fits into the prosecution’s theory. Those questions will become more significant as the case moves from police investigation to courtroom litigation.

For McIntyre’s relatives, the case began with an ordinary obligation that was suddenly left unfinished. A child remained waiting to be picked up from school, calls went unanswered and a family that knew her routine realized something was wrong. Within hours, relatives and officers were looking across Fresno for her. Within a day, detectives had focused on the Grove Avenue house. McIntyre’s sister told local media that she left behind seven children, including the two she shared with Michaels. Family members later organized a fundraiser to help with funeral costs while saying they wanted answers and accountability through the legal process.

The case now moves further into the court system, where prosecutors will have to support the murder charge with evidence and Michaels’ defense will have the opportunity to challenge it. Michaels has pleaded not guilty, and a Sept. 23 hearing is expected to address bail. The separate investigation involving his father also remains unresolved, leaving both the murder prosecution and the accessory allegation pending as authorities continue to disclose only limited details about McIntyre’s final hours.

Author note: Last updated September 21, 2026.