Oregon woman killed by husband filed for divorce

[November 12, 2009]  PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- An Oregon woman had filed for divorce just a week before her estranged husband opened fire at the suburban Portland office park where she worked, fatally shooting her and injuring two of her co-workers before killing himself.

Teresa Beiser, 36, was asking for joint custody of her two children with Robert Beiser, 39, in what appeared from court documents to be an amicable dissolution of their marriage.

But a martial arts instructor who knew the Gladstone couple well said Robert Beiser bought firearms recently and wanted to go to a shooting range to practice.

"He never had guns, and all of he sudden he buys guns," said Al Dorsey, who has taught the couple's 14-year-old daughter tae kwan do for several years.

Dorsey said many parents and students at the TaeKwanDo 2 martial arts training hall, based in suburban Milwaukie, Ore., are considered friends. He knew the Beisers well and watched the childhood sweethearts struggle with their marriage before their divorce petition was filed last week in Clackamas County Circuit Court.

"Rob came in all the time and talked to me, and Teresa would talk to me or my wife," Dorsey said.

But when Robert Beiser recently showed an interest in guns and wanted to go to a shooting range, Dorsey -- an Army veteran -- was wary.

"I told my wife, 'I don't feel comfortable going shooting with anybody that's going through a divorce,'" he said.

Wednesday evening, the Tualatin Police Department released more details about the shooting at the medical lab where Teresa Beiser worked. Police said Robert Beiser got out of his vehicle shortly before noon Tuesday and began firing into the front windows of the Legacy MetroLab. He was armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a handgun.

He fired at least three rounds into the building from the parking lot. One of those rounds struck Teresa Beiser as she was standing near the front lobby.

Robert Beiser yelled at a man in the lobby to get out of the building as he continued to fire multiple shots, police said.

One of Teresa Beiser's co-workers -- 20-year-old Brittney Nichole Lore of Vancouver, Wash. -- was near the front doors and was injured by flying glass and bullet fragments. She ran out of the building and flagged down help at a nearby Subway sandwich shop, police said.

Lore was treated at a Portland hospital and released.

Another Legacy employee, 63-year-old Tony Ochoa of Tigard, was sitting at his desk when he was struck in the hand and chest with one of the first rounds fired into the building, police said.

He started running out of the building but was confronted by Robert Beiser and shot in the leg. He then crawled to a neighboring business, where an employee administered first aid until officers arrived.

Police said Ochoa was recovering at a Portland hospital; an update on his condition was not available Wednesday evening.

Investigators found Teresa Beiser's body near the lobby. She had been shot multiple times with an assault rifle and shotgun.

Robert Beiser's body was found in a bathroom at the back of the lab. He died from a self-inflicted shotgun wound, police said.

Robert Beiser had appeared moody and distracted at times, but showed no signs that he was capable of such violence, Dorsey said.

Dorsey said he and Robert Beiser had discussed some recent shootings in the news, sharing their concerns. "He even said, 'There's nothing that bad that would make you want you to do something like that,'" Dorsey said.

Beiser and his wife were both working two jobs, and were devoted to their daughter and 11-year-old son, said Dorsey and other family friends.

A neighbor on a side street said she and her husband frequently walked past the couple's house and noticed how neat and tidy it was.

"The house was always well-kept, and they always decorated at Christmas," said Vicki Obrist, who added that she and her husband never got to know the family.

Dorsey said Teresa Beiser was working to become a competitive body builder, and she pushed her daughter to be competitive in tae kwan do.

He said Robert Beiser had worked on fundraisers for trips to tae kwan do tournaments and had accompanied his daughter. The couple appeared to be friendly when they attended tae kwan do practice sessions.

"He really loved his kids, and he really loved her too," Dorsey said. "This man worked hard, and I think his world just started crumbling."

[Associated Press; By WILLIAM McCALL]

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