Fitness trainer found murdered at Midlothian church; suspect wore police SWAT gear

MIDLOTHIAN, Texas - A fitness trainer was found murdered early Monday morning inside a Midlothian church.

Police were called to the Creekside Church of Christ on Highway 287 around 5 a.m. after a fitness class participant found 45-year-old fitness coach Terri "Missy" Bever's body inside the building.

Terry was a Camp Gladiator trainer and had a class scheduled Monday morning at the church.

Surveillance video showed an unknown suspect dressed in police-type clothing wandering inside the church. The suspect was wearing full tactical gear with a heavy vest, helmet, shin guards, gloves and ‘POLICE’ on the front.

“He is designed to look like a police officer. His intent was to look like a police officer,” said Midlothian PD Chief Carl Smith.

The suspect was first seen on the motion-activated cameras inside the church about 3:50 a.m. Terry was first seen on the camera about 4:20 a.m. as she arrived to set up for her Camp Gladiator training session.

Terry’s last Facebook post announced she'd be at the church at 5 a.m. writing, "If it's raining we're still training."

Terry's husband, Brandon, arrived home late Monday afternoon from a trip to Mississippi. He would not talk about details of the investigation but said he's having trouble absorbing his grief, focusing now on their daughters - 15,13 and 8.

"She was very passionate about transforming people's lives, physically and mentally,” said Terry. “She transformed herself into a very fit person and her desire to do that for others.”

Brandon went on to describe Terry as good wife and a good mother. He said she was a very impactful relationship for many people in their community.

The family regularly attended the Cowboy Church, just a mile down from where Terry was killed. The associate pastor of the church said he had been with the family consoling them and praying with them.

“I pray that whoever did this would be caught,” said Brandon. “And I pray for all of the people who cared so much about my wife."

The scene of the murder, Creekside Church of Christ, is located in an otherwise isolated area of Midlothian generally away from homes and businesses. Police say there is no recent history of breaking or vandalism there.

One investigator agreed the murder certainly has elements of a targeted attack but aren't ruling out an interrupted burglary. Several doors were breached at the church but nothing was found missing.

“It's just an odd random situation that they would actually happen to come into a building that was being burglarized on a Monday morning,” said Smith. “This is an extremely unusual situation for the city of Midlothian. We have a very safe community. In fact, it’s going to be the first event of my tenure here in almost ten years. Nothing like this happened here before.”

A medical examiner will determine Terry's exact cause of death.