Deadly Doctors

BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. — Mary Primis had already taught several high-intensity fitness classes that day, putting dozens of students through their sweaty paces while barely breaking one herself.

As she kicked off the last class of the evening at a health club in the Pittsburgh suburbs — Latin impact dance aerobics — the 26-year-old Primis shared some big, happy news with the health-conscious women lined up in front of her: She was 10 weeks' pregnant with her first child.

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It was 8 p.m. Tuesday, prime time for working out. The aerobics room at LA Fitness was packed with about 20 women. Among Primis' students that night were Heidi Overmier, a hardworking single mom; Betsy Gannon, an X-ray technician who loved walking her dog; and Jody Billingsley, who sold medical supplies and traveled to Tampa, Fla., this year to watch her beloved Pittsburgh Steelers win the Super Bowl.

A few minutes into the routine, a man in black workout clothes entered the room. None of the women paid any attention to him. It wasn't unusual for people to come in and out.

Then the man turned out the lights. He retrieved several guns from a duffel bag. Calmly, he opened fire on the class, spraying dozens of shots. Twelve women were hit.

As screams filled the darkened room, Primis lay in a pool of her own blood, wondering if she and her baby were going to make it. Nearby, two of the women were dead and a third mortally wounded.

The killer, 48-year-old loner George Sodini, didn't know his victims, but he knew their gender, and it was no accident that he chose this place and this time to commit murder. He was a failure with women, always had been. He wanted revenge; he'd make them pay attention.

His victims had been brought together Tuesday night by a passion for physical fitness. They were strong women, all of them. But they were no match for the gunman, who'd been plotting this rampage for at least a year.

They had a zest for living. His mantra, expressed in a Web diary: "Death Lives!"

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