Detectives investigating murder of Pierce County elderly woman shot by next-door neighbor

Detectives are investigating the murder of a 76-year-old woman who was found shot and killed inside her home Saturday night.

Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesperson Ed Troyer said in a statement the multiple people called 911 after a man told them he shot his neighbor, an elderly woman. When officers arrived to the woman's home in Gig Harbor home off Valley View Drive NW, they found her dead, but the suspect was not there.

Deputies worked with Tacoma Police and Ruston Police to search for the suspect at north Tacoma residence and the nearby Ruston Way waterfront. 

Just before 9 p.m., police found the suspect’s unoccupied vehicle at Les Davis Pier. After searching for an additional 30-minutes, officers found the suspect walking a little ways from his vehicle. 

The 58-year-old was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Pierce County Jail for murder in the 1st degree.

Detectives since the arrest learned the suspect was contacted by mental health co-responders prior to the homicide after he confronted his neighbor for setting up devices to scare off wildlife.

Around 3:15 p.m. Saturday, deputies were called to his home, but he didn’t answer. Around 5 p.m., the first witness call 911 to report that the man said he had shot someone. 

This remains an ongoing homicide investigation.