Stabbing victim identified

Police have not disclosed what sparked Friday's violent altercation of Marshall Avenue.|

A Petaluma woman who was stabbed repeatedly by her roommate was recovering Saturday while detectives sought more information about her attacker, who died during the confrontation.

Thomas E. Judkins, 36, was found dead Friday in the driveway of their house on the corner of Marshall Avenue and Shady Lane, just west of Petaluma, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.

Like the victim, Judkins also had multiple stab wounds. It is unknown whether the wounds were self-inflicted and whether they or other factors caused his death, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Sgt. Cecile Focha.

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.

Judkins lived in the home with the victim, who was recovering Saturday in a hospital from 'extensive injuries suffered in the attack,' Focha said. The woman, whose name was not released because she is a victim of a violent crime, had been stabbed several times in the upper torso.

The knife was recovered at the scene, Focha added. But it still remains unclear what sparked the attack.

'We can't speak about the motive,' Focha said about the violence. 'We don't know what provoked it.'

It's unknown how long Judkins was living in the home and what his relationship was with the victim, Focha said. He had moved to the area from Essex Junction, Vt.

The woman's young daughter also lived with them, Focha added. But the child was not home at the time of the attack and is now in the care of family members.

A witness, who declined to give his name, had been riding his bicycle south on Marshall Avenue about 3:30 p.m. Friday when he came across Judkins and the woman struggling on the ground in front of a house. Judkins was on top of the woman, who was screaming for her life, the bicyclist said. But he said he didn't see the knife.

The witness, who tried to wave down passing cars, called 911 to report the fight to sheriff's deputies and was advised to leave the area. He was later called by a dispatcher and asked to return to speak to deputies, who had closed down a section of Marshall Avenue for several hours as they combed through the crime scene.

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com.

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