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• 'We believe that he was lying in wait'

• Larson, River Oaks, Julia Morgan elementary schools are honored with top public education award

• Three-story hotel planned in Lockeford

• Veteran LUSD bus driver earns honor for squeaky clean record

• San Joaquin County officials return home from One Voice trip

• Regional Roundup

November 21st, 2009

• Logbook

• Holiday drive spreads cheer to U.S. troops

• Galt High students want board to approve open-campus policy

• Poisoning victims remain hospitalized

• Expert: Half a mushroom cap can be deadly

• Tokay grad files claim over Lodi's Grape Bowl

• Lodi Middle School holds annual Turkey Trot

• Regional Roundup

• No motive or suspect in shooting

• Sacramento cop arrested for alleged kidnapping

November 20th, 2009

• Acampo woman killed

• Salvation Army Kettle Kickoff

• Advocacy groups sue East Bay Municipal Utility District over Pardee expansion

• Regional Roundup

• Galt plans to help residents with energy-efficient projects

• Stable southeast of Lodi approved

• One year after a heart attack, Lodi's Judy Mims thanks rescuers

• National Guard troops return home in time for the holidays

• Real estate market gets on more solid ground

November 19th, 2009

• Operation: Christmas

• Logbook

• Suspect arrested after hiding in fridge

• Chase ends in crash

• Galt Joint Union High School Distric hires new superintendent

• Sales tax hike yields dividends: 5 new officers join Galt Police

• Lodi Unified School District board votes to cancel summer school for 2010

• Water surges in Mokelumne River yield more salmon

• Lodi City Council will consider redevelopment next June

• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22

• Corrections

November 18th, 2009

• Regional Roundup

• Paranormal group conducts second investigation of building

• Congress allocates money for local water projects

• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react

• Lodi man finds wife's ashes during police display of stolen property

• Galt City Council rejects study on rent stabilization

November 17th, 2009

• Paying tribute to a Lodian

• Lodi Budget and Finance Committee to look into ways to save money on employee benefits

• Regional Roundup

• Decision on summer school expected at tonight's Lodi Unified School District meeting

• Clements gets free water rescue boat

• Redevelopment to be discussed by Lodi City Council again

• Court reinstates death penalty for killer of Lodi grad

• Clarification

November 16th, 2009

• Correction

• Public Meetings

• City Council 'triple-dog dared' to ditch cars, use Lodi buses

• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi

• Lodi's First Sip event showcases area wineries' latest vintages

• Three members of Lodi-area family fall ill after eating poisonous mushrooms they reportedly found at Lodi Lake

• Regional Roundup

November 14th, 2009

• Galt school district narrows superintendent search to one

• Regional Roundup

• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise

• Watchful neighbor in Lodi helped bust suspected burglars

• New Galt city manager juggles job, family

• Despite an increase in homeless students, school districts look to bolster enrollment, raise revenue

• A first look at 2009 vintages at Lodi's First Sip wine-tasting event

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• The country's mess is our fault (165)
• Obama is not a moderate (130)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (70)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (48)
• The haves should help the have-nots (30)
• Public health care is a Christian option (29)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• Government-run health care is a bad idea (17)
• Young woman fatally shot at Acampo home (17)
• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi (16)

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'We believe that he was lying in wait'

Murder-suicide victim had filed for divorce, reconnected with high school sweetheart

Barbara Abbott had filed for divorce after 22 years of marriage, reconnected with her high school sweetheart and was planning a lengthy motorcycle trip with him.

Her soon-to-be-ex-husband was angry, and he had allegedly threatened to harm her.

And so, San Joaquin County Sheriff's investigators believe, Gary Abbott left the Turlock home they still owned, rented a car in Nevada and tracked his estranged wife to the Lockeford postal box she listed as her mailing address.

"We believe that he was lying in wait, waiting for her to get her mail," Sheriff's Deputy Les Garcia said Thursday.

As powerless shop owners gaped, Gary Abbott, 58, opened fire on Barbara Abbott, 49, at 12:50 p.m. Wednesday. After she fell to the ground, he fired several more rounds into her back and head, according to witnesses.

Then Gary Abbott, who had purchased the gun just two months earlier, turned the weapon on himself.

"I heard three shots, saw the smoke from the gun and ran to get my gun," said Greg Wright, co-owner of the Lockeford Bluffs shopping center, on Highway 88 at the north end of town. By the time he returned, Gary Abbott had shot himself in the head.

Wright, who later reviewed video surveillance footage and found that the whole incident had been recorded, said Gary Abbott fired at least six times. Wright gave the video to Sheriff's investigators and said he had no intentions of ever releasing the graphic footage to the public.

Co-owner Julie Morin was the first to deliver the news to Barbara Abbott's boyfriend, who has lived in the Lockeford area for years. He and Barbara Abbott had dated while in high school in Rio Vista three decades ago, and they reconnected a few months ago, Wright and Morin said.

Morin's teenage grandchildren loved the soft-spoken woman. One day Morin told Barbara Abbott, "If (your boyfriend) picked you, you must be OK."

She replied: "Yeah, I'm not going to let him go this time."

Nobody quite remembered when Barbara Abbott moved to Lockeford, though several business owners said she'd been in the area for a few months.

On Dec. 31, she had filed for divorce in Stanislaus County Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences. The matter soon became nasty, though Barbara Abbott never requested a restraining order, and her attorney said she never mentioned anything about weapons.

"He had been very angry with her and was acting very spitefully toward her and physically threatened her in front one of their children not long ago," her Modesto attorney, Daniel Whitlock, said Thursday morning. "But I didn't think it would go this far."

Gary Abbott's attorney, Leslie Jensen, was out of the office Thursday and did not return a message.

The Abbotts were last in court Feb. 19 for a hearing regarding economic issues and spousal support, according to court records.

That same month, Gary Abbott purchased and registered a .380-caliber handgun, Garcia said.

On Wednesday, Barbara Abbott stopped by Mailboxes and More, where she had a mailbox and checked it a couple times a week, owner Mark Andris said.

Lockeford isn't a large community, and neither is the mailing store, where Andris personally calls mailbox owners when they receive a package that won't fit in the box. In fact, he got a package for Barbara Abbott on Thursday morning, less than 24 hours after her death.

Andris happened to be away from the store when the shooting happened, but as soon as he heard the victim was a light-skinned woman with dark red hair, Andris knew who she was.

This week she had talked to him briefly about a motorcycle trip she planned to take with her boyfriend, Andris said. Morin said the couple were scheduled to leave April 30 and travel for about three weeks — the next divorce court hearing was scheduled for May 19.

Barbara Abbott sometimes mentioned her children, Andris said, and her attorney said they were over the age of 18, meaning that custody was not an issue in the divorce.

Two young people arrived at the shopping center mid-Thursday, looking at the driveway where orange paint still marked where investigators had collected evidence. Minutes before their arrival, a van delivered a floral wreath the property owners had ordered, and it was soon sitting beside a bouquet of red roses.

The young woman and man declined to comment. She left behind a note that read, "I love you. I wish you weren't gone. You were everything to me. You will never know. Love, your little girl."

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.