A Creston man accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend before involving authorities in a daylong standoff pleaded not guilty Thursday to deliberate homicide.
Robert Kowalski, 46, entered his plea in Flathead County District Court. He is accused in the March 16 shooting death of his girlfriend, 45-year-old Lorraine Morin.
Morin, a mother of six children ages 9 to 28, was found dead in a chair in the living room of her house near Columbia Falls. She had been shot once in the mouth.
After the shooting, Kowalski apparently fled to his home, where authorities flushed him out with tear gas on the evening of March 17.
Sheriff Mike Meehan has said Kowalski’s roommate called 911 to report that Kowalski told him he had killed his girlfriend and was feeling suicidal. Officers surrounded Kowalski’s house until his arrest.
Kowalski’s trial is scheduled for the July jury term. If convicted, he faces up to 110 years to life in prison.