Slain Reno couple lived in Genoa

A retired couple found shot dead in their Montreux home, a gated golf and country club community south of Reno, had once lived in Genoa Lakes.

Albert and Joan Musalo, both 75, were found dead in their Montreux home at 7:20 p.m. Tuesday by daughter Joanne Kohls and her husband, both of Reno.

The slain couple raised their two daughters and two sons in Incline Village.

As of press time Thursday, investigators said they had no suspects or motive in the deaths.

The Musalos were described by Incline residents as outdoor enthusiasts, family people and frequent skiers, golfers and tennis players. The couple, high school sweethearts from New York, had been married for 53 years and spent some of their child-rearing years in Incline Village as some of the area's original full-time residents, moving here in 1973 with three other families who worked for Pan American airlines.

"There were four Pan Am families that were based in Berlin, Germany," said Incline resident Jim McConnell, a friend of 36 years. "We were on the same crew there in 1970 - we all started skiing in Europe and we all wound up moving to Incline, supposedly to ski for a few years - but we've lived here ever since."

Albert Musalo, a retired flight engineer for Pan Am, was always active with the schools and community, Incline resident Dan Schwartz said.

While living in the Incline area, the couple also owned the Holiday House motel, Laundromat and adjoining property by the La Petite Pier restaurant near Tahoe Vista, Incline resident and friend Georgia McGregor said.

The couple eventually moved from Incline to the motel property, and also bought homes and spent time on the San Juan Islands in Washington state, as well as Tuscon, Ariz. and Naples, Fla.

"Al always had a wild hair to do something," McConnell said. "It's kind of ironic, they sold their really large home in Genoa about a year ago and my wife and I went down to Montreux to visit.

"Joan kept saying 'we're not moving again' - I guess it was true, but not in the way we'd envisioned."

McGregor sold the couple their first home in Incline on Freels Peak in 1973.

The couple moved from Incline to Genoa in the early 1990s and spent a few years living in Glenbrook on the East Shore of Lake Tahoe before settling in Montreux. In 2003, the couple sold their 4,417-square-foot Genoa home.

The couple had seven grandchildren and were making plans to visit family.

Detectives found no signs of a forced entry, said assistant sheriff Jim Lopey of the Washoe County Sheriff's Office.

"They were the type of folks that left their door open or invited someone in if they knocked," McConnell said. "They were just that friendly and trusting - just well-thought-of people."

Some items appeared to be missing from their home. Sheriff's officials would not comment on what these items were or whether detectives believed the couple was robbed.

n The Associated Press contributed to this story.