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Oxygen featured the Peter Zeihen murder case on Snapped last week, and the story has us all shaken with fear. Just before his divorce trial started, 40-year-old Zeihen faced a brutal death at the hands of his in-laws. The prime culprit in the case was Zeihen's mother-in-law, JoAnn Peterson. She was assisted by her husband and son. The trio plotted the murder of Peter Zeihen, who was shot at point blank range with a shotgun to his head.
It is no secret that Zeihen was killed by his parents-in-law after he filed for a divorce from their daughter, Orinne Goldberg. Continue reading to learn about the circumstances leading to Zeihen's death and four other interesting facts about the case.
5 intriguing case-related details about Peter Zeihen's death
1) What was the reason of dispute leading to murder?
The dispute that led to Zeihen's murder was over custody of Peter and Orinne's three-year-old daughter. The couple met at a marathon, and before long, they started dating and moved in together. They also had a child and got married. But soon, things started to fall apart, and the couple separated, with Orinne taking away their daughter.
Peter filed for divorce, and this created anxiety among the Goldbergs that he would get partial custody of his daughter. It did not appeal to JoAnn, Peter's mother-in-law, that her granddaughter would spend weekends away with her father. This created animosity between the two parties, which ended in the brutal murder of Peter Zeihen.
2) Several attempts were made on Zeihen's life
Before Peter was killed in front of his girlfriend's house in Spokane Valley, several attempts were already made on his life. He was convinced that his ex-wife's family was out to get him and he even got himself a protective bulletproof vest to save himself.
A few weeks before the murder, Zeihen discovered a flat tire on his car, which was suspicious. He drove to a mini-mart to get his tire fixed when he noticed someone standing nearby wearing a Richard Nixon mask. The person was armed with a revolver and immediately fired a round at him. Peter ran for his life but he was chased by his attacker.
He eventually got away and called 911, who came to his aid and discovered that the flat tire was done on purpose.
3) The Goldbergs went to a huge extent to have Peter Zeihen killed
As investigations unfolded, it was discovered that bribery, arson, and aborted murder-for-hire plots were at play behind the murder. Initially, the Goldbergs had an airtight alibi. They were interviewed where they claimed that the family was having dinner at the time of the murder. Their alibi was backed by Orinne's sister. Lack of physical evidence also did not lead to the Goldbergs being connected to the murder.
But in November 1993, when the Goldbergs' neighbors, Robert Lamm and Marcy Harrington, were questioned, the cat was out of the bag. They admitted that the shotgun used to murder Zeihen had been taken from their home by the son. They were scared of the Goldbergs and didn't dare come out with evidence, fearing for their lives.
Following their account to the police, their house caught fire. Although the Goldbergs' were never proven connected to the arson, it was understood that they did it.
4) Outed by their own
After the arson, Lamm and Harrington stopped cooperating with the investigation. Finally, a decade later, a woman named Shirley came forward with evidence. She was a friend of JoAnn.
Shirley revealed how JoAnn had bragged about killing her son-in-law and had even shown her where she killed Zeihen in Spokane. She further revealed,
“JoAnn talked about Zeihen looking directly into her eyes moments before he died, realizing that it was her, which was exactly what she wanted to see happen,”
Soon after Shirley's confession, Theil Goldberg and his sister, who had provided the alibi, came out to the police with the truth. Theil admitted to having supplied the weapon and his sister admitted to having lied at her parents' request.
5) Alleged abuse
During the custody dispute, Orinne Goldberg claimed that her husband had s*xually molested their daughter. An investigation was launched to examine the claim, and it was determined that the allegation was false. The court claimed that Orinne and her mother made it up to take custody away from Peter Zeihen.
Years later, when the three-year-old daughter whom Zeihen allegedly molested, grew up, she gave a brief, dramatic statement supporting her grandparents. According to her, the allegation was true.
“Words are cheap and you may not believe what I have to say, but he (Mel) was right. The abuse did happen. The evidence was thrown out of court. That man saved my life. I wouldn’t have had him do anything different.”
Mel Goldberg and JoAnn Peterson, who killed their son-in-law Peter Zeihen, were served with a life sentence.
