Suspect in woman’s Novato slaying dead from suicide in S.F.

A woman was found dead from stab wounds early Monday in Novato, and a female relative suspected in the killing apparently committed suicide in San Francisco by stabbing herself in the neck and chest, police said.

The names of the victim, a woman in her 60s and her suspected killer, a woman in her 30s, and their relationship to each other were not immediately released.

The investigation began shortly before 6 a.m. when Novato police officers were asked by another relative to respond to the victim’s home on the 300 block of Silvio Lane to check on her welfare, said Novato police Capt. Matt McCaffrey.

Officers found the victim dead inside the house. She had suffered stab wounds, but whether those injuries caused her death has yet to be confirmed, McCaffrey said.

Police developed information that a family member may be responsible, authorities said without elaborating.

The female relative, who lives elsewhere in the Bay Area, was found by police about 9:40 a.m. inside a Toyota Prius on the 2500 block of the Great Highway in San Francisco’s Sunset District. She was suffering from apparent self-inflicted lacerations to her neck and chest and taken to a hospital, where she died, police said.

Weapons possibly used in the incident were found at the home and in the car, police said.

Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @henryklee