Close friends of Bethany Noelle Schuch say she was known for having a generous heart, and always expressed a joy for life.

"She was always smiling and full of life and generosity," Rachel Steinman, a friend of Schuch's for 20 years, said Saturday. "She gave everything she had, and more. The world is a darker place without her bright blue eyes and her smile."

Schuch, 35, died Wednesday in an apparent murder-suicide near West Linn. She had been in a troubled relationship with her alleged killer, David Cote, 34, and friends say he had threatened her in the past.

"She stayed with David longer than she should have or wanted to because she had such a big heart," said Crystal Anoushiravani, who had been friends with Schuch since high school. "She was letting him stay at her house months after they had broken up because she was worried about it."

Anoushiravani said that last year Cote threatened Schuch and her four dogs with a knife, and verbally threatened Schuch several times.

That led to Schuch being granted a restraining order against Cote last year. But records show that the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office never served the order because it was unable to locate him.

In the petition for the restraining order, Schuch said she feared imminent bodily injury, and referred to Cote as mentally unstable.

Anoushiravani said that around the time that Schuch got the restraining order, she moved to the West Linn area, and that friends were guarded about her new location because of Cote's threats.

"We all blocked him on social media to keep her safe," Anoushiravani said.

It's not yet clear how Cote located Schuch earlier this week.

Cote had a record of threatening behavior. According to court records, Cote was sentenced to 45 days in jail in 2014 after he pleaded guilty to stalking and menacing a woman in Deschutes County.

Friends said Schuch worked with her mom, a nurse practitioner, and incorporated her dogs into the mental-health practice.

"She loved her dogs and they were a huge part of her life," Anoushiravani said.

"Because they were always with her, she trained them all to be therapy dogs. When patients needed extra support, they would come up and cuddle with them."

Anoushiravani said that Schuch called her dogs her "fur babies," and was known for throwing them elaborate birthday parties, complete with cake-like dog treats.

Casey Harper said Schuch recently spent a weekend visiting her and her family in California, which was indicative of the way she built an extended family of friends.

"We had the best time together," Harper said. "Beth was an only child and chose to surround herself with people she chose to be her family. She was my second sister and an aunt to my children."

Anoushiravani also described their friendship as a sort of sisterhood, and said that friends always turned to Schuch when they wanted to have fun.

"She was the person who always knew where to go when we'd come into town," Anoushiravani said. "She was the best host. She knew all the happy hours to go to. She knew all the live shows. She was always on it. She was such a fun person to be around."

Steinman said Schuch had the purest heart of anyone she knew.

"She loved wholeheartedly, even when the love wasn't returned to her," Steinman said. "She knew her friends better than they knew themselves."

Anoushiravani said she believes authorities should have done more to protect Schuch.

"There should have been more of an investigation, given his history and the threats and weapons in his past," Anoushiravani said. "There needs to be a better protocol for how information is looked at when a restraining order is being filed on a person with a history of mental health issues."

-- Grant Butler

503-221-8566; @grantbutler