Ex-Boyfriend Charged In Pleasanton Mother-Son Killings Appears In Court

PLEASANTON, CA — The man accused of fatally shooting a Pleasanton mother and son last month appeared in court for a plea hearing Monday but did not enter a plea, according to court records. Allen Swadley, 32, faces two counts of murder and a number of special enhancements in connection with the Feb. 18 shooting of Lori and Evan Simonds.

He is scheduled for another plea hearing on March 20 at 9 a.m., and is currently being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail.

Swadley worked on the Foothill High School campus this year as an athletic trainer through a contracted partnership with Stanford Children’s Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center, according to a message from Principal Sebastian Bull shared with Patch.

“This matter is not connected to Foothill High School. At no time were Foothill students or staff involved,” he wrote, and referred the community to the Pleasanton Police Department statement for further information.

Swadley reportedly called into Foothill the day of the shooting to say that his mother was sick and that he wouldn’t be attending work, according to a sworn police statement and the East Bay Times. He did not attend work the following day.

Swadley worked as an athletic trainer in several roles, according to his LinkedIn page. He worked as the head athletic trainer at Fremont High School from August 2023 to April 2025, and at Prospect High School in Saratoga from November 2022 to May 2023. He holds a master’s in athletic training from California State University Fresno.

Authorities said that Swadley had been in a relationship with Melissa Simonds, the daughter and sister of the victims. According to a sworn statement, Simonds told police that Swadley was the only person she knew who possessed guns, and knew where her family hid their house key.

Pleasanton police found a 2025 Toyota Camry registered to Swadley. Flock automated license plate cameras showed that Swadley’s Camry was captured traveling southbound on Hopyard Road at Stoneridge Drive at 9:01 a.m., about an hour before the shooting, according to Skaggs’s statement. Residential surveillance cameras also captured Swadley’s car driving on Parkside Drive towards the Simonds household before the homicide.

The Pleasanton community has mourned Lori, 67, and Evan, 28, an aspiring professional wrestler. A vigil was held in their memory at Ken Mercer Sports Park on Feb. 23, and a GoFundMe to help 27-year-old Melissa has raised $86,248 out of a $110,000 goal as of Wednesday.

SEE ALSO:

• Pleasanton Double Homicide: New Details Emerge, Special Allegations Filed
• Arrest Made In Pleasanton Mother-Son Double Homicide; Victims Identified
• Mother, Son Fatally Shot In Pleasanton