CLACKAMAS, Ore. – Teresa Beiser’s bodybuilding partner said Wednesday he and Teresa were confidants and she was someone he was attracted to and loved dearly.
Teresa was shot and killed by her estranged husband, Robert Beiser, Tuesday at the drug-testing clinic that she worked at. Robert then killed himself. Two others were injured.
“She was my princess,” said Mike Klettke about Teresa. “Her energy, it’s like somebody flipped a switch.”
He said he was drawn to her.
“Just in passing we became friends in the gym,” Klettke said.
Both shared a passion for bodybuilding and Klettke said he asked Teresa to compete with him for three years before she agreed.
“This was our second home,” he said referring to the Health Habit gym in Clackamas where they spent countless hours training.
In October they competed at Seven Feathers Casino south of Roseburg where they won second place awards together and also individually.
“It still hasn’t sank in,” Klettke said about the shooting and Teresa’s death. “It can’t be real, she’s too beautiful of a person for that to happen to.”
He said on Tuesday he lost more than just a partner.
“We knew that we were attracted to each other, and I was just trying to stay out of their separation and divorce because they had planned on - they had separated before we decided to start training. So that was already in motion,” he said.
He said now he’ll never know what the future held for them, and when asked whether he loved her he said, “Yeah.”
He said the tragedy has affected hundreds of people who loved Teresa.
The two injured in the shooting have been identified as 20-year-old Brittney Nichole Lore of Vancouver who was working in the Legacy Metro Lab clinic at the time of the incident.
Police said she was near the front doors and was injured by flying glass and bullet fragments. She was treated at Legacy Emanuel Hospital and released.
Additionally, another employee, 63-year-old Tony Ochoa of Tigard was injured when a bullet went through one of his hands and into his chest. He was also shot in the leg by the suspect as he tried to escape. Ochoa is recovering from his injuries at Oregon Health and Science University.
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled.
Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.
