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Kalee Scolatti Killed By Estranged Husband In Shocking Double Murder-Suicide

By Regina Avalos
Published on: 16:04 PST, May 9, 2015

Kalee Scolatti was shot and killed by her estranged husband at her home on Wednesday night. She was not alone that night. A close friend had come over to help her, and he was also shot and killed, according to the New York Daily News.

The murder-suicide shocked many that knew Scolatti. She had worked at the local Western Montana television station in the news department for a decade, and the station promoted her to news director back in January. She would have celebrated her 10-year anniversary at the news station on Friday.

According to reports, a man with a gun showed up at Kalee’s house on Wednesday, and that prompted her to call her friend Anthony Dupras. When her friend showed up at her home, the man with a gun shot both her and Dupras before turning the gun on himself.

Kalee and her friend, nicknamed T.J. by those that knew him, died on Wednesday, and the gunman was taken to the hospital and died on Friday morning. His identity was not immediately revealed in reports on the shooting, but he was later identified as Nicholas Scolatti.

A spokesperson for the Missoula Police Department, Travis Welsh, revealed that the couple was married, but there had been no known calls to the home for domestic violence in the past.

On Thursday, he spoke with the media about the investigation, according to KXLH.

“At this point we have served a search warrant at the house. The scene has been processed, and evidence has been noted and evaluated. Now we’re in the process of trying to determine a motive and a reason for it, and also trying to determine the origin of the weapon. There are numerous unanswered questions. And unfortunately there’s nobody that was involved that’s in a position to tell us what happened. So we are trying to piece together, as best we can, the chain of events that’s led up to what we discovered at 6:40 yesterday afternoon.”

Before the man’s identity was revealed to the media, there were rumors about the relationship between Kalee, T.J. Dupras, and her killer. The network she worked for, ABC FOX Montana, decided to clear up those rumors by posting an article that detailed the history between Kalee and her husband.

“Nick and Kalee were married in 1999. They had three children together. In recent months Kalee told Nick she no longer wanted to be married. Nick moved out of the house but they continued to share parenting responsibilities. They were in the midst of working out a joint dissolution. While we keep referring to TJ as Kalee’s “close family friend,” Kalee would have introduced him to you as her brother. As friends, we know Kalee was going through a particularly difficult time.”

With no motive known for this shocking crime, Kalee’s friends and family are now mourning the loss of her. ABC FOX Montana released a video tribute to her on Thursday. The network also released a statement talking about her.

“Kalee Scolatti brought energy and excitement to every project she touched. She will continue to be a strong influence and inspiration for all of us here at ABC FOX Montana. Kalee loved music, especially Pearl Jam with its local Missoula ties. She was a wonderful daughter, a supportive friend, an incredible mother, and she will be so desperately missed by all who were lucky enough to know her.”

Amy Dupras, the ex-wife of Anthony Dupras, spoke about Kalee and T.J. with the Ravalli Republic following the shooting.

“Our lives are going to be very empty without those two people in them, I can tell you that right now. He was there for her when she needed him. I don’t know if she had told him to be there, or if he had come over to hang out. He was there for her, as he always was. They were together as friends, as family when it happened. That’s the only bit of comfort in all of this.”

T.J. Dupras is also being mourned since his death. He worked as an office manager at Missoula’s ALPS, and David Bell, the CEO of the law firm, spoke about the man on Thursday. He revealed that Dupras often referred to Kalee as his sister. His co-workers heard that so much that they believed the two were actually related. Bell shared more about the man.

“He would insert himself to help. He would seek you out and understand how he could be helpful to you and do that. What has hit this office like a meteor is not that we lost someone who worked hard, but we lost the guy that was such a funny, infectiously funny person. He was always a positive person. There wasn’t a time that he wasn’t smiling and using that smile. I don’t know if I know anyone else just like him.”

Kalee Scolatti leaves behind three daughters. The three girls were the result of her marriage with Nick. The young girls have now tragically lost both their parents. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family with their expenses. The following message is posted on that page.

“On Wednesday, May 6th, 2015, Kalee Scolatti was killed suddenly leaving three beautiful girls, Izabele (17), Marly (14), and Sophie (5) without either parent. I am hoping to raise money for Kalee’s daughters’ needs: housing, food, clothing, counselling. The girls are so special, as was their mom, and I’d like to offer this as a way to show your love, support, and compassion for the Scolatti girls.”

Since this news was released, people have taken to social media to send messages of support to those that knew Kalee.

What do you think of the shocking death of Kalee Scolatti and her friend?

[Photo: ABC FOX Montana Video Screencap]

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