La Quinta Triple Shooting was Family Fight Over Inheritance

One of two brothers found dead inside a La Quinta residence Sunday killed his sibling and tried to kill his sister as well before killing himself, it was reported today.

Robert Bertrand, 55, shot his 61-year-old brother Rick and their sister in a residence in the 51-500 block of Avenida Carranza around 9:20 p.m. Saturday before turning the gun on himself, a sheriff’s department spokesman told The Desert Sun. The violence coincided with an argument over which brother had inherited the Avenida Carranza home.

Riverside County Sheriff’s spokesman Michael Manning told the Sun that the sister, although wounded, was able to escape from the residence in a vehicle. She was found unresponsive behind the wheel around 3:15 a.m. Sunday. She remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition, the newspaper reported.

Rick Bertrand was a doctor of chiropractic with a practice in Cathedral City. The Desert Sun quoted neighbors as saying Robert Bertrand had lived with his mother at the Avenida Carranza address for more than 10 years before her recent death at the age of 90.

--City News Service