Denise R. Stovall was a 39-year-old mother living in the high desert city of Victorville, California, a community situated on the southwestern edge of the Mojave Desert. She shared a home with her 19-year-old son and her husband, Samuel Alfred Tomasello, in a residential neighborhood. Friends and family remembered her as a loving presence in their lives, a woman whose life was centered around her family.
The quiet of a Saturday morning was shattered on October 17, 2026, inside their home
on the 14000 block of Hopland Street. At 8:17 a.m., a frantic 911 call was placed to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Dispatch. The caller was Denise's son, reporting that his stepfather, 41-year-old Samuel Tomasello, had shot him and his mother. The violent outburst turned a family home into a crime scene in an instant.
Deputies from the Victorville Police Department, which contracts with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department for its policing services, rushed to the single-story house. Upon arrival, they established a perimeter and used a public address system to order the occupants to exit the residence. The first person to emerge was Denise's son, who was suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound to his abdomen. Shortly thereafter, Tomasello exited the home and was taken into custody by deputies without incident or resistance.
With the suspect detained, deputies made a tactical entry into the house to locate Denise. They found her inside, gravely wounded with multiple gunshot injuries. The deputies immediately began administering lifesaving first aid, working to stabilize her until medical help could arrive. Paramedics from the local fire department soon took over, continuing emergency treatment on both Denise and her son. They were both transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital. Tragically, despite the extensive efforts of deputies, paramedics, and hospital staff, Denise Stovall was pronounced deceased. Her son received treatment for his serious injuries and was eventually released from the hospital to begin his recovery.
The investigation was immediately handed over to the Sheriff’s Specialized Investigations Division – Homicide Detail. Detectives, including Detective J. Desario and Sergeant G. Moreno, responded to the Hopland Street residence to lead the inquiry. They spent many hours at the scene, meticulously processing the evidence within the home and interviewing neighbors and potential witnesses to reconstruct the timeline of events that led to the deadly domestic violence incident.
Following their comprehensive initial investigation, detectives formally arrested Samuel Alfred Tomasello for the murder of his wife. He was booked under California Penal Code 187(A) and held in custody at the High Desert Detention Center to await legal proceedings. The San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department, under the direction of Sheriff-Coroner Shannon D. Dicus, handled the official aspects of the case, assigning it case number DR# 172613702 H# 2026-091.
In a public advisory released the following day, the Sheriff's Department confirmed the details of the shooting and Tomasello's arrest. The department urged anyone who might have additional information regarding the incident to come forward and contact the Homicide Detail at 909-890-4904. For individuals wishing to provide information while remaining anonymous, authorities provided the We-Tip hotline at 844-909-3006. As of October 2026, the criminal case against Samuel Tomasello for the murder of Denise Stovall was moving through the San Bernardino County court system.
