Pasco detectives could not provide a cause of death, calling it suspicious. The 67-year-old didn't show up for work Tuesday, so two of her colleagues went to her home.
By JAMIE JONES
Published May 21, 2003
PORT RICHEY - When Josephine Nuvolone didn't show up for work Tuesday morning, two of her colleagues at the West Pasco Government Center got worried.
They drove to the 67-year-old's condominium in the Orchards of Radcliffe, walked up a flight of stairs and approached Nuvolone's front door. It was ajar.
Inside, they found Nuvolone, dead in her living room.
Pasco County sheriff's detectives are calling her death suspicious and are investigating it "as though it was a homicide," said sheriff's spokesman Jon Powers.
He said detectives found no signs of forced entry. He declined to discuss whether they saw signs of a struggle and how they believe Nuvolone may have died.
Powers said detectives are awaiting word from the Medical Examiner's Office on her exact cause of death.
Sheriff's deputies arrived at Nuvolone's condominium, A-211 at 7623 Radcliffe Circle, about 9 a.m., after her co-workers called for help. Detectives began interviewing neighbors and collecting evidence, loading some of Nuvolone's belongings into several bags and boxes. They were still working at 6 p.m.
Nuvolone moved into the complex, for adults 55 years or older, in 1995 with her husband, Raymond. She worked in the county zoning department. He was a cross-country truck driver. Mr. Nuvolone died of cancer in February. Since then, Mrs. Nuvolone has lived in the complex with her black schnauzer.
Neighbors stood beyond the crime scene tape on Tuesday, trying to figure out what had happened.
They said they have always felt safe in their tidy complex, with Spanish tile roofs and green, manicured grounds.
Residents have their own crime prevention group and regularly patrol the area, although they typically stop their watch around midnight, neighbors said.
Each condominium has an alarm system and emergency panic buttons in bedrooms, said Theresa Klein, who has lived in the Orchards for about six years.
"This is the safest place for someone our age," Klein said. "We've never had a problem here."
Neighbors described Mrs. Nuvolone as a feisty, independent woman who typically attended the monthly complex association meetings and was not afraid to speak her mind.
Marcel Nuvolone, the father of Mrs. Nuvolone's late husband, said Tuesday that he was still waiting for answers from detectives.
"We're anxious to know what happened," the Port Richey resident said.
He described Mrs. Nuvolone as an outgoing, affable woman who lovingly nursed her husband as he was dying of liver cancer.
"She was a good wife," he said. "Theirs was an interesting love affair - they just kind of clicked together."
The county's personnel director, Barbara DeSimone, said Mrs. Nuvolone worked in the zoning department from June 1998 until she retired in June 2000.
After her husband died, Mrs. Nuvolone returned as a temporary worker in the central permitting department on March 17.
"By all accounts, she was an excellent employee," DeSimone said.
Mrs. Nuvolone was reliable and always arrived at work on time, about 8 a.m., DeSimone said. When she didn't arrive Tuesday, colleagues drove to her home, finding her Nissan Altima parked beneath a covered space outside her condominium.
DeSimone said the two employees were upset about what they saw.
"I can't say how they found her," she said. "Honestly, I didn't ask. I didn't want to know."
She said a grief counselor spoke with distraught employees Tuesday.
"She was just loved by all," DeSimone said. "I was pleased to see how many people she touched."
Residents who live in the condominium below Nuvolone's told detectives about two people, a man and a woman, whom they had seen recently entering the apartment. The residents declined to comment, as did detectives.
Sheriff's spokesman Powers said Mrs. Nuvolone was last seen leaving work on Monday, and she typically arrived home about 5:15 p.m.
He asked anyone with information to call Detective Pete Weekes at 1-800-854-2862, ext. 7279.
- Jamie Jones covers crime in Pasco County. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6245 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6245. Her e-mail address is jjones@sptimes.com
