Murder-suicide ruled in weekend's homicide in Kings Beach

The shooting in Kings Beach on November 4 has been ruled a murder-suicide by the Placer County Sheriff's Office.

Their preliminary investigation has determined that 64-year-old Scott A. Kotter, manager of the Northwood Pines Motel in Kings Beach, shot and killed Isabelle C. Gallo, 34, a female tenant, before turning the gun on himself.

The Northwood Pines Motel is a long-term rental motel located in the 8400 block of Trout Avenut. While there had been no previous calls to the Placer County Sheriff's Office involving the two, investigators say there appears to have been a long history of verbal altercations between Kotter and Gallo.

On Saturday at approximately 4:00 p.m., Kotter showed up at the woman’s room. They exchanged heated words, and he pulled a gun and shot her. Gallo’s boyfriend was present in the room, and as he ran to the bathroom window to escape, he was also shot at, but wasn’t hit. A moment later, Kotter shot himself.

Placer County Sheriff’s Office detectives and coroner’s investigators continue to investigate this crime.