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Kids hide as mom, friend slain
A defiant ex-boyfriend broke into the woman's house, shooting her and her boyfriend. Police shot and wounded the gunman.
Howie Padilla and Tom Ford, Star Tribune
Teri Lee feared her ex-boyfriend would kill her.
After he was arrested in July and charged with attacking her with two butcher knives, she predicted it.
"Ms. Lee stated she was afraid for her life and was very afraid that the defendant would make bail and come to her house and kill her," an investigator reported in July.
That was two months ago, before Friday morning when, police say, Steven Van Keuren broke into Lee's Washington County home and killed her and a friend. Police shot and wounded him.
Lee's four children, ranging in age from 6 to 12, were home at the time of the shooting about 4:30 a.m., but there are no indications that the suspect went after them.
The 12-year-old daughter recognized the gunman and rushed her younger sister, 6, to a neighbor's house, Washington County Sheriff Steve Pott said.
The older daughter was in the bedroom with Lee, 38, and her boyfriend when she heard the patio door burst open, said Lee's sister, Vicki Seliger Swenson of Minnetonka.
Then the girl spotted him.
His head was shaved, his goatee was gone and he had a big red "X" on his forehead, but she knew it had to be Van Keuren, Seliger Swenson said.
The girl tried to call 911, but Van Keuren ripped the phone from her hand.
The girl fled but couldn't find her two brothers; they were in their closet.
Yelling for help at the neighbor's house, the girls said that Van Keuren was in the home. He had a gun. Shots had been fired. Their brothers, ages 8 and 10, were still in the house.
A Washington County Sheriff's Office SWAT team descended on the West Lakeland Township house. Authorities tried in vain to call into the house.
It took officials about 90 minutes to plan a rescue attempt. The girls helped them, describing the home's layout and what they knew of the events inside.
Police broke into the home, setting off the house alarm. Van Keuren, still armed, confronted the SWAT members, who opened fire, Pott said.
It was unclear how many times or where Van Keuren was hit, Pott said. Van Keuren was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where he was said to be in serious condition.
Authorities found Lee and her boyfriend dead in a bedroom, Pott said. In another bedroom, they found the boys unharmed.
Pott wouldn't identify the boyfriend, but Seliger Swenson said he was Tim Hawkinson of Maplewood.
Lee and Van Keuren, 46, of River Falls, Wis., were colleagues at 3M Co. and began dating casually about a year after Lee's husband, the father of her four children, died in a 2001 car accident, Seliger Swenson said. Van Keuren also had been a softball teammate of Lee's late husband, Ty Bryant Lee.
"We all feared" Van Keuren, Seliger Swenson said. Lee tried several times to end the relationship, but he would not allow it, her sister said.
A criminal complaint backs up Seliger Swenson's assertions, detailing accusations against Van Keuren related to an attack at Lee's home on Aug. 1.
In that incident, Van Keuren reportedly trapped Lee into a corner with a table and said his life was over because of what she had done, according to the complaint.
The only way they could now be together, he said as he tried to stab her, was if he killed her and "they could be together forever," it said. He later told investigators that he knew he had made a big mistake.
Van Keuren "indicated he was losing his job at 3M and also losing Ms. Lee and that the pressure of both became too much," according to the complaint.
In the July incident, Van Keuren was charged with making terroristic threats, second-degree assault and two counts of first-degree burglary.
At a hearing Aug. 1, Van Keuren's attorney asked that bail be set at $20,000, citing the fact that he had no criminal convictions, 25 years of employment at 3M and experience as a youth program volunteer.
Prosecutors asked that bail be set at $100,000, saying it was warranted because of the ferocity of the attack and the fact that he led police on a chase to his father's River Falls home before he was arrested.
Lee pleaded for bail to be set as high as possible.
"There's no doubt in my mind that he will come back to my home," she told a Washington County district judge. "He's stated that ... he had nothing left to live for and that he had nothing at risk."
Judge Gregory Galler set Van Keuren's bail at $75,000 and included several conditions of release, including that he have no contact with Lee, her home or her family.
Even so, Lee was not convinced she was safe, Seliger Swenson said. She spent $4,000 on a home security system. On some nights, she and her children would stay at Hawkinson's Maplewood home.
Hawkinson and Lee had lived in the same Maplewood neighborhood when they were kids. Hawkinson also worked at 3M, and Seliger Swenson said they began dating last winter.
Hawkinson doted on Lee, and her children adored him, Seliger Swenson said. In light of the incidents with Van Keuren, Hawkinson also had been playing the role of Lee's protector in recent months. He helped install the security system at Lee's home and spared no expense, Seliger Swenson said. The family stayed at Hawkinson's house Wednesday night, after Van Keuren ignored the judge's rules for a second time, Seliger Swenson said.
A few weeks ago, while at work, Lee received an e-mail from Van Keuren's father asking her to meet with his son. Lee turned over the e-mail to police and a warrant was issued for his arrest, Seliger Swenson said. He was never arrested.
Seliger Swenson said one of Lee's daughters was playing volleyball Wednesday at school when she spotted Van Keuren in the stands.
Seliger Swenson said that each knew they saw the other.
"She had enough composure to finish out the last couple points," Seliger Swenson said. "And she came off the court crying. 'Get me out of here.' "
School officials whisked her to the principal's office and called Lee, who told the principal to call police. Pott said that Lee left messages on an investigator's work phone Thursday. But, he said, the investigator was not in the office.
Seliger Swenson is frustrated and angry that her sister's pleas went unheard.
"You know, none of us are surprised," she said. "We're devastated, but we knew that he was trying to kill her."
The tragedy is even more horrific for Lee's children, she said. On Monday, Seliger Swenson said, she and her husband -- who have a 9-year-old and twin babies -- will begin the process to gain guardianship of her nieces and nephews. They plan to enroll them in the Hopkins school district, where they both work.
"They lost their dad five years ago to a car accident," Seliger Swenson said. "This is brutal."
[email protected] • 612-673-4921
A defiant ex-boyfriend broke into the woman's house, shooting her and her boyfriend. Police shot and wounded the gunman.
Howie Padilla and Tom Ford, Star Tribune
Teri Lee feared her ex-boyfriend would kill her.
After he was arrested in July and charged with attacking her with two butcher knives, she predicted it.
"Ms. Lee stated she was afraid for her life and was very afraid that the defendant would make bail and come to her house and kill her," an investigator reported in July.
That was two months ago, before Friday morning when, police say, Steven Van Keuren broke into Lee's Washington County home and killed her and a friend. Police shot and wounded him.
Lee's four children, ranging in age from 6 to 12, were home at the time of the shooting about 4:30 a.m., but there are no indications that the suspect went after them.
The 12-year-old daughter recognized the gunman and rushed her younger sister, 6, to a neighbor's house, Washington County Sheriff Steve Pott said.
The older daughter was in the bedroom with Lee, 38, and her boyfriend when she heard the patio door burst open, said Lee's sister, Vicki Seliger Swenson of Minnetonka.
Then the girl spotted him.
His head was shaved, his goatee was gone and he had a big red "X" on his forehead, but she knew it had to be Van Keuren, Seliger Swenson said.
The girl tried to call 911, but Van Keuren ripped the phone from her hand.
The girl fled but couldn't find her two brothers; they were in their closet.
Yelling for help at the neighbor's house, the girls said that Van Keuren was in the home. He had a gun. Shots had been fired. Their brothers, ages 8 and 10, were still in the house.
A Washington County Sheriff's Office SWAT team descended on the West Lakeland Township house. Authorities tried in vain to call into the house.
It took officials about 90 minutes to plan a rescue attempt. The girls helped them, describing the home's layout and what they knew of the events inside.
Police broke into the home, setting off the house alarm. Van Keuren, still armed, confronted the SWAT members, who opened fire, Pott said.
It was unclear how many times or where Van Keuren was hit, Pott said. Van Keuren was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where he was said to be in serious condition.
Authorities found Lee and her boyfriend dead in a bedroom, Pott said. In another bedroom, they found the boys unharmed.
Pott wouldn't identify the boyfriend, but Seliger Swenson said he was Tim Hawkinson of Maplewood.
Lee and Van Keuren, 46, of River Falls, Wis., were colleagues at 3M Co. and began dating casually about a year after Lee's husband, the father of her four children, died in a 2001 car accident, Seliger Swenson said. Van Keuren also had been a softball teammate of Lee's late husband, Ty Bryant Lee.
"We all feared" Van Keuren, Seliger Swenson said. Lee tried several times to end the relationship, but he would not allow it, her sister said.
A criminal complaint backs up Seliger Swenson's assertions, detailing accusations against Van Keuren related to an attack at Lee's home on Aug. 1.
In that incident, Van Keuren reportedly trapped Lee into a corner with a table and said his life was over because of what she had done, according to the complaint.
The only way they could now be together, he said as he tried to stab her, was if he killed her and "they could be together forever," it said. He later told investigators that he knew he had made a big mistake.
Van Keuren "indicated he was losing his job at 3M and also losing Ms. Lee and that the pressure of both became too much," according to the complaint.
In the July incident, Van Keuren was charged with making terroristic threats, second-degree assault and two counts of first-degree burglary.
At a hearing Aug. 1, Van Keuren's attorney asked that bail be set at $20,000, citing the fact that he had no criminal convictions, 25 years of employment at 3M and experience as a youth program volunteer.
Prosecutors asked that bail be set at $100,000, saying it was warranted because of the ferocity of the attack and the fact that he led police on a chase to his father's River Falls home before he was arrested.
Lee pleaded for bail to be set as high as possible.
"There's no doubt in my mind that he will come back to my home," she told a Washington County district judge. "He's stated that ... he had nothing left to live for and that he had nothing at risk."
Judge Gregory Galler set Van Keuren's bail at $75,000 and included several conditions of release, including that he have no contact with Lee, her home or her family.
Even so, Lee was not convinced she was safe, Seliger Swenson said. She spent $4,000 on a home security system. On some nights, she and her children would stay at Hawkinson's Maplewood home.
Hawkinson and Lee had lived in the same Maplewood neighborhood when they were kids. Hawkinson also worked at 3M, and Seliger Swenson said they began dating last winter.
Hawkinson doted on Lee, and her children adored him, Seliger Swenson said. In light of the incidents with Van Keuren, Hawkinson also had been playing the role of Lee's protector in recent months. He helped install the security system at Lee's home and spared no expense, Seliger Swenson said. The family stayed at Hawkinson's house Wednesday night, after Van Keuren ignored the judge's rules for a second time, Seliger Swenson said.
A few weeks ago, while at work, Lee received an e-mail from Van Keuren's father asking her to meet with his son. Lee turned over the e-mail to police and a warrant was issued for his arrest, Seliger Swenson said. He was never arrested.
Seliger Swenson said one of Lee's daughters was playing volleyball Wednesday at school when she spotted Van Keuren in the stands.
Seliger Swenson said that each knew they saw the other.
"She had enough composure to finish out the last couple points," Seliger Swenson said. "And she came off the court crying. 'Get me out of here.' "
School officials whisked her to the principal's office and called Lee, who told the principal to call police. Pott said that Lee left messages on an investigator's work phone Thursday. But, he said, the investigator was not in the office.
Seliger Swenson is frustrated and angry that her sister's pleas went unheard.
"You know, none of us are surprised," she said. "We're devastated, but we knew that he was trying to kill her."
The tragedy is even more horrific for Lee's children, she said. On Monday, Seliger Swenson said, she and her husband -- who have a 9-year-old and twin babies -- will begin the process to gain guardianship of her nieces and nephews. They plan to enroll them in the Hopkins school district, where they both work.
"They lost their dad five years ago to a car accident," Seliger Swenson said. "This is brutal."
[email protected] • 612-673-4921
Gotta feel aweful for those kids, losing both parents like that.
