University of Wisconsin-Madison police investigators were working Friday to determine why a respected physician and her husband were targeted and killed. The bodies of Dr. Beth Potter, 52 and her husband, Robin Carre, 57, were found by a jogger Tuesday in the UW Arboretum, a research and popular recreational area that includes more than 1,200 acres of forests and prairies.

Potter and Carre died from "homicidal related trauma," according to the Dane County Medical Examiner's Office. Authorities have not disclosed the manner of their deaths, but UW police said the slayings were not by chance.

"Through our police investigation, we reached a point where we were confident in that this was not random and this couple was targeted," said police department spokesman Marc Lovicott in an email Thursday. "Beyond that, I can't provide any further details as this is a very active police investigation."

Potter worked at the Wingra Family Medical Center, run by the UW-Madison Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and Access Community Health Centers.

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She was medical director of UW Health's Employee Health Services and spoke French and Spanish, which "brought clarity and comfort to the diverse patient population she served," according to a tribute on the medical school's website.

Carre was an independent educational consultant, according to his website, and offered consulting services to students and their families for the college search and application process. He was also a former coaching director at Regent Soccer Club, a youth soccer organization in Madison.

Jennifer and Jonathan Nolan, the owners of a fitness center in Middleton, told CBS affiliate WISC-TV that Carre was almost always around.

"There's definitely a culture of family here," Jennifer Nolan said. "He was definitely missed when he wasn't here."

The Nolans said Carre would bring his wife to events like Halloween parties at the fitness center, remembering one year when Potter dressed as Harry Potter.

"(They were) very complimentary to each other," Jonathan Nolan said. "I know she was a kind and caring woman."

Talking with close friends of both Robin and Beth, the recent double homicide victims, I heard one thing echoed again... Posted by Madalyn O'Neill on Thursday, April 2, 2020

This is UWPD's first homicide investigation since 1982 according to Marc Lovicott, UWPD communications director. Senior staff members believe it's the department's only double homicide investigation in modern history, he added.

"This is unprecedented for folks currently at the department, but this is the stuff we train for," he said.