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Mar-23-2011 12:15printcomments

Richard Kreitzer Marion County Assessor Found Deceased at Home

The family appointed a spokesman to issue a statement this afternoon on the steps of the Marion County Courthouse (below).

Richard Kreitzer
Richard Kreitzer

(SALEM, Ore.) - Marion County Assessor Richard Kreitzer was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at his SE Salem home on Tuesday evening.

A friend of Kreitzer's called Deputies to the residence in the 200 block of 59th Avenue SE, at 6:12pm. The friend told deputies he spoke with Kreitzer earlier in the evening. During the call, he and Kreitzer made plans for him to come to the Kreitzer home for a visit. He arrived and became concerned when he found the overhead garage door open, but was unable to find his friend.

FAMILY STATEMENT:
Thank you for coming, my name is Dennis Kreitzer. Dick was my brother. Technically, he was my cousin, but my family raised him from the age of 7, so I've always called him my "brother".
I have been asked to be the spokesperson for my family. This has come as a shock to us and we are going through a very emotional time. We would like to thank everyone for their prayers and concern. We've asked ourselves ...why? ...but we can only speculate.
Dick was happily married to Meera for 28 years. He has two wonderful daughters, Megan (23) & Marissa (17).
Dick's family was his life. He attended all of his daughter's activities and was an expert on their ballet performances. He also liked golf & fishing.
Dick was dedicated to his job. He worked for over 21 years at the Marion County Assessor's Office. He loved his job and always put in extra effort to do what was needed to get the job done.
He was loved by his family, and we loved him. We ask that you please respect our privacy during this trying time.
Thank you for coming,
The Kreitzer family
Deputies arrived at the home at 6:23pm and located Kreitzer's body in the backyard. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was home at the time.

Richard Kreitzer, 54, was serving his second term as the Marion County Assessor after being re-elected in November of 2010.

Marion County Chief Administrative Office John Lattimer said that Chief Deputy Assessor Shawn Beaton would assume responsibility for the Assessor's Office until further notice. Each member the Board of Commissioners was notified of the death.

Sam Brentano, Chair of the Marion County Board of Commissioners added, "We are all shocked and saddened by this news".

The Marion County Medical Examiner and the District Attorney's Office assisted with the investigation.

Marion County Sheriff's Chaplain Todd Pynch, from Crisis Chaplaincy, is with the Kreitzer family. He worked late into the evening, making family notifications.

The investigation is on-going and further information will be released when it becomes available.

Source: Marion County Sheriff's Office




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JTro March 23, 2011 6:25 pm (Pacific time)

No disrespect to the families involved (I read a major HMO's statistic yesterday that 2% of adult men kill themselves), but given the death - by the exact same method - of Polk County's commissioner this same week, I have to ask the hypothetical, "what is going on?" Did they know each other? I am sure some people reading this would love to invent some sort of inter-Valley governmental conspiracy to investigate.

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