Hints of motives appear in Twin Cities slaying rampage

Trace Maxwell was angry that a girlfriend left him when he crossed the Twin Cities on a methodical murder and suicide spree Thursday, killing three people, including another man the girlfriend had dated.

That man was an Inver Grove Heights inventor, company founder and pilot who drove fast, spent lavishly and shared Maxwell's predilection for exotic dancers.

Police found the body of Bryan A. Fisher, 46, in the home at 8001 Courthouse Blvd. Fisher, who paid $346,000 for the home in 2004, was CEO of Excel Manufacturing, a St. Charles, Minn., company that makes industrial baling machines of a type Fisher invented.

Inver Grove Heights police Lt. Larry Stanger said Friday that Fisher was shot. Several months ago, Maxwell had a dispute with Fisher after Maxwell learned that Fisher was dating his ex-girlfriend, a police source said. Fisher complained to police.

That friction is the closest thing police say they have to a motive for any of the three killings and one nonfatal shooting they believe Maxwell inflicted on his victims early Thursday morning before police caught up to him and he killed himself while driving a maroon SUV in south Minneapolis.

Minneapolis police said they have yet to identify a single precipitating event that set off Maxwell, though relatives and acquaintances of the south Minneapolis tattoo parlor owner said volatility was one of his defining traits. Court records scattered across several counties and spanning decades are replete with examples of Maxwell, identified by police as a sometime pimp, drug dealer and informant, threatening, intimidating and assaulting people.

Minneapolis Police Capt. Amelia Huffman said police were actively checking on the welfare of several people who had had relationships with Maxwell, a father of nine, to ensure there were no more victims. However, Huffman said there's no truth to a news report that police found a "hit list" Maxwell had made.

He began his rampage in north Minneapolis about 2:30 a.m. when he went to a house there and killed a girlfriend, Amy Terborg, 28, and seriously injured Gina Fredrickson, 20. On Friday, Fredrickson was no longer in Hennepin County Medical Center, where she had been in serious condition.

Police believe Maxwell then headed to the home of a Brooklyn Park contractor, Jason Rand, 38 -- another man police said had complained about Maxwell's threats or harassment -- and killed him before proceeding to Inver Grove Heights and killing Fisher.

Fisher's firm has 49 employees and is the third-largest employer in St. Charles, population 3,500. A spokeswoman for the company declined to comment.

But friend Karie Henry, who said she had known Fisher for years, said: "I really cared about him. I really feel terrible that this happened to him. He was a really nice guy."

Henry said Fisher complained of being harassed in recent months by the girlfriend who also dated Maxwell. Henry also said Fisher told her that the girlfriend had taken him for $50,000.

"They had been together for at least a year or two," she said, and Fisher bought her jewelry and other nice things. "She kept telling him she wanted to start a business and needed $50,000," Henry said, adding that Fisher gave it to her, then left for Australia on business. He returned to find that she had left him, taking a $6,000 watch, Prada sunglasses and other property belonging to him.

Henry said the girlfriend then sent Fisher text messages and photos of herself and Maxwell. "They were sending him naked pictures of them together," Henry said. "'Ha ha ha, we got your money.'"

Fisher owned a plane, but because of numerous speeding tickets, he had lost his pilot's license. He still had the plane in a hangar but hadn't flown it for two years, she said.

He also had an ex-wife, Olena Chop, an immigrant from Ukraine to whom he was married for five years. She was deported in 2006, according to the couple's divorce decree. Chop believed that Fisher had reported her to immigration authorities to get rid of her, said her friend, Natelly Babin of Mendota Heights. Fisher denied that, according to court records.

Fisher was a regular for many years at the King of Diamonds Gentlemen's Club in Inver Grove Heights, according to owner Susan Kladek.

At Oak City, a Bloomington bar and grill where victim Terborg worked, colleagues said they were overcome by shock. Alicia Oppelt said Terborg was "on-again, off-again" with Maxwell, a "nice guy" who occasionally stopped into the restaurant.

Terborg had been on call to work at the restaurant for the past month, said manager Matthew Montognese. She had broken her ankle after she said she slipped on ice in the parking lot, Oppelt said. She spoke frequently of moving to Florida.

Maxwell ran a clothing store and, more recently, the Tattoo Genius parlor on Nicollet Avenue. The company's Facebook page said it would be closed until Monday and added: "Please respect his family and friends as we mourn the loss of someone we loved so much. We miss you Trace! Rest in peace."

Maxwell had made deadly threats in the past. In June 1999, Minneapolis resident Brian Tonsager filed a harassment petition against Maxwell after he "pulled a gun on me and shot at my dog," he said in court records.

In 2006, drug agents raided a farm owned by Maxwell in Benton County and found a small marijuana growing operation and seized $1,300. He admitted growing the pot and was charged with misdemeanor drug possession.

"Everyone is talkative around here, so we know he had some women problems," Jeffrey Thomas said. "He was a cool person though.

"... We'd see a lot of women and a lot of high-priced cars; it was kind of weird and crazy. He attracted a lot of attention just by being him."