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Police: Man fatally shot while assaulting woman in Billings

Posted at 12:19 PM, Sep 22, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-22 14:19:50-04

BILLINGS — Police said Tuesday a man who was fatally shot at a Billings Heights residence was killed while assaulting a woman.

The fatal shooting happened shortly after 4 a.m. Mondayat a residence in the 300 block of Nash Lane. Officers found 43-year-old Robert Aven Kolter from Roundup who had been shot. He died after being taken to the hospital.

In a press release Tuesday, police said investigators determined that Kolter had traveled from Roundup to see a 33-year-old woman who was staying at the Heights property. The two were in a relationship, police said.

A 34-year-old Billings man was living in a separate building on the property, police said.

Prior to the shooting, Kolter was assaulting the woman, police said. The woman was strangled and pistol-whipped and Kolter tried to force her to leave with him.

When Kolter put a gun to the woman's head, the 34-year-old man who lived there shot him, police said. The names of the woman and the 34-year-old man have not been released.

The investigation is ongoing, police said, and no arrests have been made.