By JOHN STANGand NICHOLAS LEDDEN/The Daily InterLake
Negotiations were still under way Monday morning at a Creston area house with a man suspected of killing his girlfriend.
Special weapons assault teams from Flathead and Missoula counties and the Kalispell Police Department are at the home on Montana 35 midway between Evergreen and Creston, where Robert Kowalski, 46, has been holed up since Sunday afternoon.
Lorraine Kay Morin, 45, was found shot to death earlier that day in her house on Montana 206, a few hundred feet north of Elk Park Road.
She was Kowalskis girlfriend, and he has a history of domestic violence, said Flathead County Sheriff Mike Meehan.
Kowalskis roommate who was not at their home at the time called the sheriffs office at 11 a.m. Sunday to say that Kowalski said he had killed his girlfriend and was feeling suicidal, Meehan said. Meehan believed that the woman died hours before the 9-1-1 call.
Deputies later found Kowalskis Ford Ranger pickup at his house on Montana 35 just east of Fairmont Road and about a hundred feet southeast of the Rocky Mountain Baptist Church. Deputies disabled the pickup so it could not run.
The countys SWAT team began surrounding the house at about 2 p.m. Sunday
For five hours, no one knew if Kowalski was in the house, whether he was alone, or if he was alive.
Several negotiator phone calls to the house went unanswered.
The Kalispell polices new armored vehicle the Ballistic Engineered Armored Response vehicle, or BEAR was placed a few feet way from the one-story houses front door. Later, the sheriffs command van was parked behind the BEAR vehicle, placing deputies and negotiators about 20 feet from the front door.
The house is believed to have five or six rooms, which increased the trickiness of any potential forced entry.
Shortly before 7 p.m., deputies and the Montana Highway Patrol closed off Montana 35 between Fairmont and Montford roads. Then the SWAT team broke some windows and used poles to pull back curtains.
At that time, Kowalski began swearing at the officers which was the first time his presence was confirmed inside the house.
Kowalski reportedly fired a single shot from the rear of the rsidence just before midnight, authorities said.
Morin was the mother of six children, ages 9 to 28. Authorities said the younger siblings are staying with the older siblings.
Circumstances of the shooting were unknown Sunday, including how many times she was shot. An autopsy is scheduled for today at the state crime lab in Missoula.
The womans body was found inside a one-story, red-roofed white house with a wheelchair ramp in front. A few horses were in back of the house as crime scene technicians processed the site.
Two homes are at the site, which had mailboxes for 2275 and 2279 Montana 206. A white trailer home is just northwest of the main house.
Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com. Reporter Nicholas Ledden may be reached at 748-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com
MrMark
You know what's interesting? This outcome came on the Missoula SWAT teams watch! They spelled Kalispell Monday morning. (I think that's what the morning radio news said...but then again...) No, Resident, I don't have the background to manage these kinds of things. But I'm sure going to vote for someone who can, because this was a mess and took far too long to resolve. This is Montana for cryin' out loud. My neighbors could have hauled his sorry ass out of there in a couple of hours! Dead or alive! Preferably the former!
MrMark
Now our tax money is going to have to pay for his trial, that will probably be extended for some reason, and then have to be moved to some little berg in Wyoming because they never heard of Kalispell! This piece of garbage has admitted that he killed her and then said he wanted to kill himself and even played tough guy with our "tough guys" and we should try this guy? We should have taken him out, and I know that the majority of you think the same way. I'd respect our law enforcement even more than I do now! I still respect them, but I'm disappointed.
tweety
My heart goes out to her family and her children they will have to live wiht this forever. What an aweful tragedy. With his pas history he should have been in a treatment center.
faithful reader
What's the matter with you, MrMark? You spew nonsense. You know how many criminal trials have been out of the county since 1980? Exactly one. They can't move trials out state. Did you used to use a different name in this forum, because your brand of ignorance and hostility sounds familiar.
MrMark
Commoncents, if this is how you like your hard earned tax money spent, then you make a lot more than me! Why not have a beef with more of these scum bags? Where have we gotten with being humane with with losers like this? Only the highest amount of incarcerated scum of any other country in the world! Pshyhobabble doesn't work. It's time to start getting tough and making anyone think that if they are going to take a life and get caught doing it, they are going to die, whether it be in their home that they choose to hole up in, or within hours of being sentenced to the death penalty. And if I've crossed over to the wrong side of the law, then I better damn well be ready to deal with the consequences. There is no respect for the law or the judicial system any longer. Left to go the way it is, I might just move, 'cause we're on a slippery slope to you know where!
MrMark
Commoncents. Good thoughts. I respect good,honest trade in thought. The thing that continues to frustrate the hell out of me is, we won't fry him! It'll never happen. So then where are we? We pay to keep another piece of you-know-what alive, in prison, watching tv, getting 3 squares a day. No. We should have taken him out at his house. Maybe if we pressed him hard enough, he would have spared us all and taken himself out.
Appollinaris
I'm sure glad now that all that money was spent on the BEAR Vehicle. I can already see the difference it's making. Maybe that $300,000 should have been spent on training for KPD, so they'd know how to actually handle a situation like this...
Yosemite1967
"The countys SWAT team began surrounding the house at about 2 p.m. For five hours, no one knew if Kowalski was in the house..." Five hours without even knowing whether he was in there? Why didn't they just pull up and use the bullhorn to say, "Mr. Kowalski, come out with your hands up!" He might've done just that. Nowadays, we make things sooo complicated.
MrMark
And IF is a very big word here, isn't it?
erok2
Why would you move the command post that close the building? It shouldnt even be within firing range of the house. "Later, the sheriffs command van was parked behind the BEAR vehicle, placing deputies and negotiators about 20 feet from the front door."
reader
what's wrong with the cops? waiting for donuts & coffee, why haven't they went in & got this guy they know there is no one else in the house! buy a big rig just to look pretty? come'on guys get with the program !
Zmama
I don't know why this guy is still a free man. He killed his first wife the same way and has a long history of domestic violence. If the authorities would have done their job properly the first time around he wouldn't have been able to kill again
erok2
The best place for a the command post is a safe distance from the threat. Command doesnt need to be that close to properly manage the incident. Tactical command maybe... It does seem unsual for them to be there this long. Dont they have flash bangs, bullet and some snipers? Come boys - all this overtime is going to hurt us later. :)
erok2
Reader; I was going to suggest that tey spent all of their money on the new rig instead of bullets, but if I remember right the BEAR was a donation. Waiting this long only puts him in control of the situation. He could be booby-trapping the place as we speak. End it boys!
Flathead Resident
I am glad to see that we have many individuals wanting justice. I have the neatest idea for all parties with a bashing for the way this situation is being handled... RUN FOR OFFICE, then pray to God that this situation never happens while this County is in your hands...
reader
Wasting taxpayers hard earned dollars while waiting for a murder to come out on his own is ridiculous. Just get the job done, how brave is waiting for 29 hours?? 2 tours in Iraq is brave facing guns & bombs everyday. This guy wasn't even worth a bullet let alone all the wasted time !
Flathead Resident
From all of the comments that I have read, I believe you people should put your actions where your mouth is. It appears as if many of you should run for office next election, and then pray that you are not forced to make these decisions and you would be able to make this valley better than what it is today, afterall, you appear to have all the answers!
andjusticeforall
I pulled up his name thru the conweb on the dept of corrections page and it says nothing about a homicide charge. Course maybe this is a different guy but DOC says he is 35... something isnt right. Maybe its on my end.
andjusticeforall
Read what Cortney? No link attached to your message.
erok2
Of course each person here would make different or better decisions than what is being made today. And thanks to this thread we can do that... Many have mentioned that some posters here should run for office and experience the decision making process out current official are faced with. While that is a great point, I think the decision are clear - neutralize the threat. Why do we have a tactical team if they are to stand by, idle, waiting in a defense stance?? There may be plenty of reasons not to move in, but the costs of standing idle can be greater. Whether exercise or real life, action must be taken to maintain control of the situation... assuming safety is ensured. Anyways, lets hope this ends soon and peacefully. Thanks for your input!