Sonoma ‘Barrel Killer’ gets 36-to-life prison sentence

The Sonoma man convicted of murdering a 64-year old man whose body was found in a barrel in front of City Hall has been sentenced to 36 years to life in state prison. Michael McNatt, 42, had been convicted of second degree murder with a deadly weapon for beating to death Ronald Sauvageau with a hammer.

District Attorney Jill Ravich called the crime “an act so horrific it defies comprehension.”

The slaying took place on March 20, 2015 at a home at Acacia Grove Mobile Park on Highway 12 in the Sonoma Valley.

“Without provocation,” Ravich said yesterday, “Mr. McNatt murdered Mr. Sauvageau, a total stranger to him, within minutes of encountering him for the first time in his life, by beating him to death with a hammer, because he felt offended that the victim ignored his attempts at conversation.”

McNatt then wrapped metal chains around the victim’s legs and stuffed the body into a 55 gallon barrel. He then left the barrel containing the corpse “on public display” on the doorstep in front of Sonoma City Hall, Ravich said.

At his trial a year ago, jurors deliberated for about two hours before returning a guilty verdict. McNatt further sustained Prior Strike and Serious Felony Conviction enhancements.