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Family matters may get ugly and Peter Zeihen's murder is a testimony to it. Oxygen's Snapped has released a new episode that follows Peter Zeihen's murder case to bring to the world the brutal death the 40 year-old electrical contractor suffered at the hands of his in-laws.
The dispute happened over the matter of custody as Zeihen's in-laws were not in favor of him getting any custody of his daughter whom he loved very much. As the argument heated up, Zeihen's in-laws made attempts on his life.
Zeihen was murdered by his mother-in-law JoAnn Peterson in the midst of his bitter divorce in 1991.
Trigger warning: This article contains information about graphic violence
Who was Peter Zeihen and why was he killed?
Peter Zeihen was born in 1951 and grew up in Chewelah, a small town north of Spokane, in Washington. He was born into a modest couple. His father owned his own farm and his mother was on the city council. When Zeihen was 35 he met 30-year-old Orinne Goldberg at a marathon in Spokane.
The duo started dating and moved in together a year later. Four months later, Orinne got pregnant and had a daughter. Following this, the couple married in 1988.
Soon after, Zeihen's marriage began to falter, and Orinne abandoned him, taking their daughter with her. She moved in with her parents in Newport, Washington, 60 miles away. Zeihen had to drive to Newport on weekends to see his daughter, but their marriage did not improve.
Eventually, they filed for divorce. Now this would entitle Zeihen to partial custody of his daughter, which did not sit well with Zeihen's in-laws, especially his mother-in-law JoAnn Peterson. She found it unacceptable that her granddaughter would have to spend time with her father, who lived an hour away.
To resolve the matter of inconvenience, Zeihen was killed. He was shot in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun in 1991 while sitting in his car outside his girlfriend's Spokane Valley apartment. He was wearing a bulletproof vest which showed that he was already protecting himself from attack.
Who killed Peter Zeihen?
The authorities convicted Peter Zeihen's in-laws for his murder. Three of his in-laws were found involved in the case. Zeihen's brother-in-law had supplied the weapon, while his father-in-law drove the getaway car and was the primary assistant in the murder. His mother-in-law, the matriarch of the family, had shot him at point blank range.
Zeihen's brother-in-law, Theil Goldberg, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He contacted the authorities about the crime. A female family friend of the family too revealed the plot for the kill to the police.
The father-in-law, Morris "Mel" Goldberg, was charged with first-degree murder, and so was JoAnn Peterson, who wielded the weapon and fired the shot. JoAnn reportedly claimed that she wanted Zeihen to look into her eyes before killing him.
Soon, family plots, murder-for-hire schemes and a possible arson came to light. All of them were linked to the Goldbergs' plan to keep Zeihen from his daughter. Mel and JoAnn were sentenced to 26 and 25 years in prison respectively for the murder of their son-in-law.
Catch Snapped on Oxygen for more details from the Zeihen case.
