Woman murdered in California

A former Columbia Falls woman was shot to death in Richmond, Calif., last month.

Tammie Baker, 43, was shot multiple times about 10 p.m. March 20 on the front walk at the corner of South Fourth and Florida Avenues, according to Sgt. Nicole Abetkove, public information officer for the Richmond Police Department.

Police are actively investigating the case, Abetkove said, but at this point they do not have a named suspect or a definitive motive in the case.

Officers who were in the area heard five to seven gunshots, according to SFGate.com.

Baker has lived in California about 10 years, but grew up in Columbia Falls, according to her mother, Paula Bennett.

She was born in Whitefish and attended school in Kila and Columbia Falls.

Baker’s death was the first homicide of the year in Richmond, a city with a population of about 100,000 people located in the San Francisco Bay area about 12 miles north of Oakland.

A memorial service for Baker will be Saturday, April 12, at 3 p.m. at the Columbia Falls Mortuary. The family invites everyone to share a memory on a balloon which will be released at the end of the service.

A potluck-style reception will follow at the Teakettle Community Hall on Nucleus Avenue.