NOVATO – On Tuesday August 4th, the Novato Police Department (NPD) issued an updated Community Bulletin about an incident on the 300 block of Silvio Lane.
Just before 2 am on Monday August 3rd, Hollis Emily Puccinelli had called the NPD and reported that she believed her mother, Judith Dunaway, had abused her 3-½ year old son. An NPD officer attempted to obtain more information from Puccinelli over the phone but she was very uncooperative.
Concerned for Puccinelli’s welfare and that of her child, the Vallejo Police Department was asked to respond to Puccinelli’s residence, but she had left the home prior to the officers’ arrival.
Victim Judy Dunaway, image from Facebook.
Sometime between 5 am and 5:30 am, Puccinelli had made contact with Dunaway at her Silvio Lane residence. An altercation ensued and Puccinelli fled the residence. Shortly before 6 am, NPD received a call from an extended family member who was concerned for Dunaway’s safety.
The NPD conducted a welfare check at her residence. Officers arrived shortly thereafter and found blood on an exterior door and then made entry. Dunaway was found on the living room floor with significant injuries. Paramedics pronounced the victim dead at the scene.
Dunaway appeared to be a victim of homicide. Subsequent investigation indicated that Puccinelli might have been responsible for her death. Her vehicle information was broadcast to Bay Area counties. San Francisco Police Department officers located Puccinelli inside her vehicle with an apparent self-inflicted neck wound in the vicinity of 45th Avenue and Wawona Street. She was transported to a local hospital where she was also pronounced dead.
Hollis Puccinelli was later found fatally wounded at this San Francisco intersection.
Forensic examinations were performed on the bodies of both Dunaway and Puccinelli as the final causes of death are under investigation and will be determined by the coroner’s offices.
Available arrest records show that Hollis Puccinelli has an extensive history of drug, theft, and sometimes weapons offenses. Her most recent arrest was in September of 2013 when she was booked for exhibiting a deadly weapon. Earlier records going back to 2008 show at least six prior arrests for possession controlled substances, paraphernalia, stolen property, drugs without a prescripiton, and in one incident a switch-blade knife. In April of 2009, she and another suspect, Tahirah Sephia Preston, were accused of running an extensive identity theft ring out of San Rafael.
Read More: Marin Independent Journal (2009) – Marin women charged in huge email theft, fraud case
