[Narrator]: A shotgun
blast through a windshield
ends the life of a dedicated
father in an instant.
When I saw the
carnage in this car,
it reminded me of a
mob-style execution.
[Narrator]: An execution the
victim feared was coming.
He had been the target
of an earlier shooting
where they didn't get him.
Whoever had done this
first shooting had gotten away
and had not been identified.
He knew somebody was
trying to kill him.
He was wearing
a bulletproof vest
at the time that
he was killed.
[Narrator]: Investigators
realize no witness is safe.
People were just scared
that if they said anything,
they would either
be killed or harmed.
[Narrator]: One detective
must risk it all
to expose a
heartless mastermind.
She gave me instructions
to meet her at the cemetery,
and to come alone.
Worst case was that somebody
was going to be waiting there
to ambush me.
[Narrator]: Authorities
uncover a meticulous plot
crafted by a powerful criminal.
It was fairly astounding,
the control she was able
to exert over other people.
She was a woman that
you need to be fearful of,
because if you crossed her,
she was gonna get you.
[theme music]
[Narrator]: November 18, 1991.
Spokane, Washington.
It's 7:00 PM when a frenzy
of 911 calls flood into
the Spokane County Sheriff's
Office reporting a shooting
at the Willow Street Apartments
[Mark]: I was home after a full
day shift on a Monday night
and got a call that I was needed
to respond to a homicide scene
in the Spokane Valley.
[Narrator]: When first
responders arrive,
they quickly gather information
from several of the
witnesses who called 911.
People in the complex heard
the gunshots and then, you know,
immediately called police.
The person that did this
then escaped right away.
[Narrator]: They direct
officers to a vehicle,
where they locate
an unresponsive male
slumped behind the
steering wheel.
Deputies found him
shot dead in his vehicle.
And detectives, forensics,
uh, people were called out
and started their investigation
there at the scene.
[Mark]: The crime scene was
a small apartment
complex parking lot.
There was a male in the
car that--fully dressed,
still seat-belted into
the driver's seat.
And he had a massive
head and face wound.
[Narrator]: The level
of carnage is shocking
even for seasoned detectives.
He'd been shot
point blank, almost.
The shot had actually
been through the window glass.
He had died instantly.
When I saw the
carnage in this car,
there was no question
that he was a target
that somebody was making
sure that they eliminated.
It reminded me of a
mob-style execution.
I'd been down a lot
of homicide scenes,
and we just didn't
see those in our area.
[Narrator]: Whoever
pulled the trigger
left a key piece of
evidence on the ground
just a few feet from the car.
The person that committed the
crime left the shotgun there.
[Mark]: The shotgun led
us to initially feel
that was probably
the murder weapon.
It was a Winchester .12-gauge.
The only distinguishing things
on it was a little chunk of wood
that was broken
out of the stock.
And there was some type of paint
rub-off on the stock as well.
[Narrator]: While
technicians continue
processing the crime scene,
detectives question residents
of the apartment complex
to ID the victim.
He was identified
as Peter Zeihen.
He was about forty years old.
The witnesses from the
apartment complex told us
that he was a resident
there at the apartments,
along with his girlfriend,
and that he had probably
just arrived home from work
when the shooting occurred.
[Narrator]: But none of
Pete's neighbors have any idea
why he would have been the
target of such a brutal murder.
[Mark]: Starting into
this investigation,
there was many, many
background questions
surrounding Pete Zeihen.
This was a target.
This man was wanted
dead by somebody,
and they made sure they got him.
Why would somebody sneak up
on him in a ambush attack?
[Narrator]:
Born on June 27, 1951,
Peter Zeihen came
from modest roots.
Pete had grown up in
Chewelah, Washington.
They, uh, lived on a small
farm, where they had a mill.
Pete's, uh, father was a
real, uh, hardworking guy
that would work the fields
and knew how to do just about
everything around the farm.
Pete's mom was on
the city council.
They were a strong base,
uh, for Pete to grow up under.
[Narrator]: With a work ethic
as strong as his parents',
Pete pursued a career in
a highly demanded trade.
Pete and I met at
Spokane Community College
while we were taking
Industrial Electricity.
Pete was a good
electrician, hard worker,
friendly, outgoing,
kind of almost bubbly.
[Narrator]: At 35 years old,
Pete was living in
Spokane, Washington
when he met someone who would
change his life forever--
30-year-old Orinne Goldberg.
An avid runner, she met Pete
during a local road race.
[Chris]: Her parents,
Mel Goldberg and JoAnn,
they had one son,
that was Theil.
They had two daughters,
Orinne and Merv.
They were very well known.
[Narrator]: Orinne
worked for her parents
at their realty office
in Newport, Washington,
one hour outside of Spokane.
[Mark]: JoAnn Goldberg,
as the matriarch
and the main head of the
family,
she made the decisions.
She insisted things
be done her way.
Mel was pretty easygoing
and was really friendly,
was a really nice guy.
[Narrator]: Pete and Orinne
dated for about a year
before moving in together.
Four months later,
Orinne became pregnant.
They married in 1988, after
the birth of their daughter,
and made their home in Spokane.
His eyes would just twinkle
talking about this little girl.
He'd smile from ear to ear.
He thought she was
just heaven on earth.
[Narrator]: But by 1989, not
everything in Pete's life
was going as smoothly
as fatherhood.
[Enrique]: I think not long
after that the child was born
that their marriage
started to go south.
[Peter]: He was a good father.
His daughter meant a lot to him.
He made that very clear.
And I think that he
would've stayed married
just for the sake
of his daughter.
[Narrator]: When their
attempts to reconcile failed,
Orinne left with
their infant daughter.
When she left
and took the child,
she moved up to
Newport, Washington,
which is about sixty
miles from Spokane.
That was to her
parents' residence.
Orinne kind of kept a low
profile and let her mother,
JoAnn, really handle things.
[Narrator]: Pete began
traveling to the Goldbergs
on the weekends to spend
time with his daughter,
and eventually
filed for divorce.
[Chris]: That, of course,
involved a request for, uh,
visitation with his daughter,
and at least partial
custody of his daughter.
And that just didn't
sit well with JoAnn.
That's not the way that
she imagined her family,
with the granddaughter
being able to be away
for any period of time.
The divorce proceedings,
they became a bit ugly.
JoAnn had basically
told Peter that,
"There's no way you're going
to get my granddaughter."
[Rick]: He was going
through the custody battle.
He was sad, kind of depressed
over the whole situation.
He wanted to get
his mind in a position
where he could go
on with his life.
[Narrator]: While Pete
struggled for access
to his beloved daughter,
he found solace in his work
and eventually met someone new-
34-year-old Helen Eken.
[Peter]: We had some
discussions about her,
and, and she was
a very good person,
had a good, responsible job.
[Narrator]: In the fall of 1990
about a year after
his split from Orinne,
Pete was starting to settle
into a new life with Helen.
[Mark]: He was living with
Helen at her apartment.
Her and Pete were waiting
for the divorce to be final
so they could move forward
in their relationship.
[Rick]: He was going
through a hard time,
going through a divorce.
But he still had a,
he had a good outlook on life.
[Narrator]: But Pete's attempt
at a fresh start is cut short
on November 18, 1991.
Peter is shot point blank
range with the shotgun
through the window,
right at his head,
and he dies instantly.
The, uh, shotgun is, uh,
dropped there at the scene.
The assailant, uh, fled.
[Narrator]: Though the
scene indicates an ambush,
what investigators
discover under Pete's coat
swiftly calls that
theory into question.
[Mark]: He was
carrying a handgun.
Plus, he was also wearing
a bulletproof vest.
It was not common for
us to encounter people
wearing bulletproof
vests at that time.
That he had one on
was quite unusual.
It told me that he was scared,
and he was trying
to protect himself.
[Narrator]: Coming up--
detectives discover this
isn't the first time
the victim faced an armed
assailant hell bent on murder.
[Andrew]: This person
was chasing him,
bullets hitting off
brick through the alley.
He was a changed guy.
Paranoia had set in.
[gunshot]
[Narrator]: November 18, 1991.
Spokane, Washington.
Investigators on the
scene of Pete Zeihen's
ambush-style murder are
working to piece together
a puzzling array of clues.
[Mark]: The crime scene
essentially consisted of
the car that the victim
was in, his body,
and the shotgun on the ground.
There really wasn't any
other physical evidence.
There was no video evidence
or anything else at that scene.
[Narrator]: While there
are no surveillance cameras
in the area, police do
find a potential witness.
[Mark]: At the time
of the shooting,
one of the tenants in
the apartments, Pamela,
heard the shot, ran outside,
and saw a gold or a
tan-colored vehicle
accelerate very fast
out of the parking lot
onto the street.
She couldn't really say
for sure the people,
if there was more than one.
She just knew there was a noise
and there was a car
racing out of there.
Her being able to identify the
car as specifically as she did
was pretty helpful,
because a lot of witnesses
aren't that good.
[Narrator]: Officers fan
out in search of the vehicle
based on the description,
while detectives begin tracking
down Pete's loved ones.
At the time of, of his murder,
Peter was living with
his girlfriend, Helen Eken.
[Narrator]: Investigators
immediately locate
the couple's apartment within
the complex to break the news.
[Andrew]: This is
typical police procedure,
to interview boyfriends,
girlfriends, significant others.
[Mark]: Meeting with Helen,
her reaction to Pete being
dead was appropriate to someone
who had just suffered
a severe loss.
She was home for the evening.
She had heard the
sound of the shotgun,
but didn't realize what it was
and fortunately
hadn't gone outside.
[Narrator]: When detectives
ask Helen about the handgun
and bulletproof
vest found on Pete,
Helen reveals some
startling news.
[Enrique]: He had also been the
target of an earlier shooting
where they didn't get him.
[Andrew]: Approximately two
weeks earlier was October 25.
At 7:00 in the morning,
he had gotten up for work,
noticed that his tire
was flat on his car.
And he drove across the
street to a, a mini mart.
[Chris]: He went to
re-inflate the tire,
at which time he noticed that
somebody was standing by him.
And when he looked up, there
was a figure that had a, uh,
Richard Nixon mask on.
That person was
holding a, a revolver.
This person is
completely disguised,
heavy clothing and
something over their face.
And they immediately
fire a round at him.
Pete reacts by
jumpin' up, starts runnin'.
This person keeps chasing him,
shooting rounds as they run.
[Andrew]: This short, stocky
person, uh, was chasing him,
bullets hitting off
brick through the alley.
[Mark]: None of
the rounds hit him,
and the person finally
leaves and outta sight.
Pete gets on the phone, calls
911, says, "I just got shot at."
[Narrator]: Helen confirms
that Pete filed a police report
two weeks earlier.
Whoever had done this
first shooting at Pete Zeihen
had gotten away and
had not been identified.
The examination at
the scene determined
that there was a hole in the
tire in a place that somebody
had punctured the
tire intentionally
to let the air out.
[Narrator]: In Pete's
statement on October 25,
he offered up his own theory
of who was responsible.
He told, uh, detectives
that the reason why
I think this happened is because
I'm in a bitter child
custody dispute.
Peter, you know,
made it very clear
that if anything
happened to him,
that it would be
his ex-wife's family
that they needed to look at.
[Rick]: I saw him a
short time after that,
and he was a changed guy.
I mean, he was,
paranoia had set in on him.
He, he was scared to death
'cause back of his mind,
he knew somebody was
trying to kill him.
[Andrew]: He told them
that, "Well, from now on,
"I'm gonna start carrying
a sidearm with me
and wear a bulletproof vest."
[Narrator]: Though
Pete felt confident
he knew who was out to kill him
he died before investigators
could substantiate his claims.
[Mark]: That case was
still being looked into
at the time the murder occurred.
Another detective handled
that investigation.
And the issues with Pete's
estranged wife, Orinne,
and the child custody
had been brought up,
but there hadn't been any
interviews conducted yet,
and there wasn't
really much evidence
to really narrow it down.
[Narrator]: After learning
of Pete's accusations
towards his former in-laws,
homicide detectives reach out
to Pete's longtime attorney
to learn more about
the custody battle.
They appointed a
guardian ad litem,
which is not unusual
in a, a divorce case.
So the guardian ad litem is
there to protect the child and,
and to give a candid
opinion to the judge
as to who would be
the best parent.
Her report said that
Orinne should have custody,
and that Pete, uh, would have
traditional, um, visitation,
which would include
overnights on weekends.
[Andrew]: Orinne's family had
sworn that he's never going to
see his daughter.
JoAnn could not stand to
have, uh, her granddaughter,
uh, be given to
Peter, her son-in-law,
even on the weekend.
[Chris]: She decided she
would take care of it.
And her way to try and take
care of it is she alleged,
uh, sexual abuse by
Mr. Zeihen on his own daughter.
Pete denied these
false allegations against him.
Child Protective
Services got involved.
The Spokane Police
Department got involved
and were conducting
an investigation.
They said that there was
a lack of probable cause.
And the clinical psychologist
thought it was unusual
that she met with Orinne
and that there was never
any discussion about
any sexual abuse with the child.
And then all of a sudden,
it pops up a-afterwards.
So they came to the decision
that there wasn't any substance
to these, um, allegations.
[Narrator]: With
his name cleared,
Pete continued to
advocate for visitation.
It was coming down
to a pivotal time
in the divorce proceedings
because a trial was forthcoming.
The final decisions
were going to be made
who the child would go with,
if there was going to be
child support, visitation,
those types of issues that
surrounded the infant child.
[Narrator]: As homicide
detectives dig into
the police report from the
first attempt on Pete's life,
one detail immediately
stands out.
[Mark]: At that first shooting,
three weeks before
Pete was murdered,
there was another witness
in the parking lot
that has seen this
car leaving the scene.
It was tan or a
brown-colored car,
and it had fled out of
the area and out of view.
They knew that there was the
connection with the getaway car,
because of the fact
that, you know,
it was described as a brown
car in the first shooting,
second shooting as well.
[Narrator]: Detectives
release the witness's
description of the
vehicle to the public.
It's a shot in the dark,
but you try to at least get
somethin' to start lookin' for.
[Narrator]: Coming up--
a flood of tips rushes in.
Witnesses came out,
said the same vehicle
had been parked in
front of their residence
for a couple of weeks.
[Narrator]: And a killer
tries to silence witnesses
at any cost.
She was really afraid of
providing more information.
[Andrew]: They said,
"You know, not for nothing,
but we're extremely
scared of this family."
[Mark]: Within a
couple of weeks,
their house had
been set on fire.
[fire crackling]
[Narrator]:
November 19, 1991.
Less than 24 hours
after the murder of
40-year-old Pete Zeihen,
a BOLO issued for
the getaway car
yields promising leads
from Spokane locals.
[Andrew]: Photos were,
uh, publicly disseminated
of the vehicle.
Witnesses recognized
those photos, uh,
and made contact with
the Sheriff's Office.
We got called that this car
was sittin' out pretty much
in plain view in front
of this lady's house,
approximately half a mile or so
from the where the
murder occurred.
[Narrator]: Investigators
respond and find a car
matching the description
of the getaway vehicle
parked on the suburban street.
The vehicle was
recovered abandoned
in front of a residential house.
The license plates
had been altered
to make them not
identifiable immediately.
[Narrator]: The altered plates
raise the level of suspicion.
Inside the unlocked Chevrolet,
investigators find the VIN
and run it through
their database.
It turned out the
car had been stolen
couple, three weeks
prior to all this
from an area north of Spokane,
probably ten miles from
where the murder occurred.
And because of that, we were
able to seize it as evidence.
We still hadn't
necessarily confirmed it
as the murder vehicle,
but we did take a picture
of it back to Pamela
at the apartment complexes.
She identified that
car in the picture
as the same one she had seen
leaving the scene of the murder.
[Narrator]: While
crime scene techs
sweep the car for evidence,
investigators interview
Pete's estranged wife, Orinne,
and her parents, Mel and
JoAnn, on November 19.
[Enrique]: Police suspected
the, uh, family members
because of all of just the
rancor and the animosity that,
uh, had come up from
the divorce proceedings.
[Mark]: Mel, JoAnn, and Orinne
said that they would be willing
to sit down and answer
any of our questions,
but only as a group.
And that, that was the
only way they would do it.
[Narrator]: The
family offers alibis
for the night of Pete's murder.
The family told investigators
that they were at
a family dinner.
[Mark]: JoAnn and Mel's
daughter and son-in-law,
Merv and Greg, alibi them
for that late afternoon,
early evening.
The family had shown up
sometime in the afternoon
and stayed for dinner.
So from 5:00 to 9:00,
they were at Greg
and Merv's house.
[Enrique]: The family members
all had, uh, strong alibis.
And police couldn't connect
the family to the first shooting
or the second shooting.
[Narrator]: With nothing to
hold the Goldberg family on,
investigators let them go.
We could not say who
actually pulled the triggers.
[Narrator]: And detectives
hit another dead end
when the search of the
suspected getaway vehicle
yields no results.
[Mark]: We were feelin' pretty
confident we had the right car,
but we didn't have anything
in the car immediately
to identify anybody
that had used it.
[Narrator]: Without
any physical evidence
and no new leads to follow,
the investigation
begins to stall in 1992.
It wasn't progressing much,
and I had other cases
I was working on.
But I would make callbacks often
to everybody that
we had talked to before
to develop further information.
But it was moving slowly.
It really goes cold when
there's not, uh, other tips
or new information
coming in to act upon.
[Narrator]: In late
November of 1993,
Newport residents
Bob Laam and Marci Harrington
reach out to the Spokane
County Sheriff's Office
with information that could
break the case wide open.
[Mark]: Bob and Marci
Harrington were neighbors
of the Goldbergs' property
up in the Newport area.
They said they were
the owner of the shotgun
that was used in this murder.
Of course, that got my
attention immediately.
[Narrator]:
Detectives are curious.
After all, they've never
released a description
of the murder weapon
to the public.
Bob Laam identified
this shotgun
specifically with the
particulars about the damage
to the wood stock and
the paint rub-off.
They had it stored kind
of in an off the hallway,
up against, behind a door.
One day, Orinne's brother,
Theil Goldberg, had showed up.
He picked it up
and walked out with it.
It wasn't unusual because
Theil Goldberg was known
to borrow their stuff often.
[Narrator]:
But after Pete's murder,
they say Theil started
acting strange.
He went back to the neighbor
and attempted to buy the weapon
from them, explaining that
he couldn't return it.
[Narrator]: Investigators
ask Bob and Marci
why it took them so
long to contact police.
And they confess their guilt ha
finally outweighed their fear.
They said, "You
know, not for nothing,
"but we're extremely
scared of this family.
"And we didn't come forward
or cooperate originally
with any information because
of our extreme fear of them."
[Narrator]: After speaking
with Bob and Marci,
it quickly becomes clear
that the couple had a
good reason to be afraid.
[Mark]: Within a
couple of weeks,
Bob and Marci's
house burned down.
We were pretty convinced
that it had been set on fire,
and it was because the
conversations about them
being witnesses, where they
might be asked to testify.
[Narrator]: Despite
the assertions,
nothing links the Goldberg
family to the fire.
[Chris]: And of
course, as a result,
Mr. Laam decided they no
longer wanted to cooperate
out of fear of what
might happen to them.
[Narrator]: After the fire,
Pete's case stagnates yet again
leaving investigators
frustrated.
[Enrique]: Someone is making
sure that no one's gonna talk,
because they're gonna be
fearful for their life.
So without any hard
evidence whatsoever,
the police are just stuck.
This case languishes
for several years.
There is no break in
the case whatsoever.
[Narrator]: Then, in 1999,
eight years after Pete's murder
investigators get a big break.
[Mark]: I got a call to
my office from a lady
who was real mysterious.
And she wanted to talk about
the Pete Zeihen murder.
She knew somebody
who had told her
they had committed this murder.
She was pretty reluctant.
She mentioned being fearful.
This caller, after quite a
bit of convincing, finally says,
"I'll tell you my first
name," which she did.
It was Shirley.
[Narrator]: Shirley agrees
to meet Detective Henderson,
but only under
certain conditions.
She said, "Well,
you come and meet me,
and it's going to be in this
cemetery outside of town."
She said, "If I see anybody
else or any police cars around,"
she says, "I'm gone, and you
will never talk to me again."
[Narrator]: Coming up--
to solve the case,
Detective Henderson
puts his life on the line.
The worst case that came to
mind was that somebody was there
to either ambush me or was
gonna come in with guns blaring.
[Narrator]: July 1999.
It's been eight years since
Pete Zeihen's brutal murder.
Detective Mark Henderson
is heading to a cemetery
in northern Idaho to meet
a potential witness alone.
I did not think
it was a smart idea,
but I think it was a
calculated risk that I felt,
after years of
chasing this case,
this may be the golden key.
Kind of was on alert
until this pickup shows up
and I meet this lady.
And she starts telling me some
details about the murder case.
She mentioned where
the car had been stashed
and gave the
information on the gun.
She knows about this
murder better than I do.
Either she did it
or she's talked to the
person that did it.
[Narrator]: When Detective
Henderson asks Shirley
who her source is,
she brings a longtime suspect
back into the spotlight--
her new friend, JoAnn.
[Peter]: JoAnn and Mel
Goldberg, her husband,
got a divorce relatively
quickly after Pete's death.
And JoAnn resettled
up in, uh, Idaho.
[Narrator]: Formerly
JoAnn Goldberg,
Shirley's neighbor since 1998
now goes by her
maiden name, Peterson.
Shirley says, over
the past year,
the two women
became fast friends.
But things took a turn recently
when JoAnn began
divulging a dark secret.
JoAnn started to
open up about her life
and things she had done.
And she started talking about
the murder of Peter Zeihen.
And admitted that she was
the mastermind behind it all.
[Mark]: Not only does Shirley
now have statements from her,
but JoAnn offers to take
her to Spokane for lunch.
And after they're
done with lunch,
JoAnn drives her a
short distance away
into this parking lot of
this apartment complex.
Stops, points at
a slot, and says,
"That's where Pete got
shot and killed at."
It was very detailed
statement made by Shirley.
She's got her pointing out
the crime scene
and describing it to
her to a tee, basically.
[Narrator]: Shirley's
statement is shocking,
but detectives need to
corroborate her story
before they can bring JoAnn in.
[Narrator]: Then, a
little over a month later,
they get an unexpected
visit from her son, Theil,
and her daughter, Merv.
[Enrique]: Theil and, and his
sister decide that they got to,
they gotta talk.
So they go to the police and
tell them what had happened
to Peter Zeihen
and that their mother
had killed him.
[Narrator]: The two then
provide detectives with details
about the night of
November 18, 1991.
[Mark]: The night of the murder,
Merv and her husband get
a phone call from JoAnn,
who says they're in
Spokane at a store
and they're heading
towards Merv's house.
This is probably
7:30-ish in the evening.
And they said,
"Well, well, why?"
They were going to demand
that Merv alibi them
for that late afternoon,
early evening.
[Narrator]: But
Theil Goldberg admits
to a much bigger
role in the murder.
Theil was the one who got
ahold of the weapon that, uh,
ultimately was used to
kill, uh, Peter Zeihen.
He got the shotgun
from the neighbors
and then took it to his mother.
[Narrator]: Theil confirms
that in addition to the murder,
his parents were involved
in the first ambush on Pete.
Theil confirmed
JoAnn was the trigger person,
and that all of them had
been part of the planning,
including Orinne.
[Narrator]: Detectives
ask why the siblings
have decided to come forward
now, after all these years.
[Mark]: They became convinced
that JoAnn was going off
the deep end and she was
coming after them and Mel.
JoAnn had started making
some threats towards Mel,
and Theil was getting
real concerned
about being around her,
and he was essentially
getting scared of her.
[Chris]: I think keeping this
family secret for so long
was weighing on Theil.
He was just so overcome
with that guilt.
And I think with
finally deciding
he didn't wanna be controlled
like he was being controlled
by his mother, that he finally
decided to come forward.
[Narrator]: Theil says Orinne
continued to raise her daughter
and the family intended to
insulate her from any trouble,
but things haven't
worked out as planned.
[Chris]: Orinne, at the time,
was suffering from brain cancer.
And she was at high risk of,
you know,
that ending her life.
[Narrator]:
In late October 1999,
officers move in
on JoAnn Peterson.
[Mark]: We took
JoAnn into custody
on the federal weapons
charge on that date.
[Narrator]: When news of
JoAnn's arrest spreads,
her ex-husband, Mel Goldberg,
surrenders to police.
[Enrique]: He basically opened
up and said, "Yeah, I did this.
She did it, and I was involved.
I was the getaway driver."
[Narrator]: Mel agrees to tell
detectives exactly what happene
the night of the murder.
[Mark]: He filled in the blanks.
Mel and JoAnn were
waiting to see Pete
pull in his parking lot.
They had a place
where they could
watch him from, discretely.
[Chris]: After Mr. Zeihen
had backed his car in,
Mel drove up to
Mr. Zeihen's vehicle.
Ms. Peterson got out of the
passenger side of the vehicle
with the shotgun.
[Enrique]: Mel tells police,
"JoAnn wanted to make sure that
"Peter would know
that she was the one
"that was going to kill him.
"And she looked him
right in the eye
and then pulled the trigger."
[gunshot]
After she had, uh, discharged
this firearm into Mr. Zeihen,
killing him, she
dropped the shotgun.
I don't think that shotgun
was meant to be left behind.
I think she shot that gun,
and it surprised
the hell out of her.
[Narrator]: Coming up--
the case seems like a
surefire win for prosecutors.
At this point, really the
case is going to be a slam dunk.
[Narrator]: But the
defendants have other plans.
[Mark]: We expected
him to plead guilty
because he fully confessed.
But he didn't.
[Narrator]: Following
detailed confessions
from JoAnn Peterson's
estranged family,
police file an array of charges
in the murder of Pete Zeihen.
Both Mr. Goldberg and JoAnn
Peterson were charged with
aggravated first-degree murder.
And Theil was charged
with first-degree murder,
because he had
obtained the shotgun
knowing what it
would be used for.
[Narrator]: Despite
suspicions of her involvement,
Pete's ex-wife, Orinne,
continues to evade the law.
[Chris]: Orinne, at the
time of the prosecution,
was suffering from
a brain cancer.
It wasn't a slam dunk
case against her.
And the elected prosecutor
ultimately made the decision
that she would not be
charged for those reasons.
[Narrator]: In January 2000,
Theil Goldberg cements his fate
Theil plead guilty
to a reduced charge
of second-degree murder.
Of course, that was
a negotiated plea.
He got the benefit of the
fact that he came forward
and broke this case.
[Mark]: Theil Goldberg received
a fairly lenient sentence, uh,
for his cooperation,
and he agreed to testify
in trial against his parents.
At this point,
really the case is,
is going to be a slam dunk.
[Mark]: We expected
Mel to plead guilty
because he fully confessed.
But he didn't.
[Narrator]: When the time
comes for Mel Goldberg
to submit his plea,
his decision is
a shock to prosecutors.
He decided,
"I'm going to trial."
[Chris]: Mel Goldberg
was scared to death
of JoAnn Peterson, and
he would've done whatever
she requested him to do during
the time they were married.
[Narrator]: But prosecutors
argue he is far from innocent.
[Chris]: It was very
clear to us as prosecutors
that he was highly
involved in the planning,
and he was actively
involved, of course,
in covering up the
murder after it occurred.
Mr. Goldberg was sentenced
to life in prison
without the
possibility of parole.
[Narrator]: As prosecutors
prepare for JoAnn's trial,
they work to pin
down her motive.
JoAnn was a person who was just
totally self-involved
and controlling,
and wanted to control
every part of her own life,
and so that extended
to her family.
And she just could not envision
having her granddaughter
leaving her family to visit
even with her own
biological father.
She decided to
commit this murder
so that he would not get
visitation in this custody case.
[Narrator]: Prosecutors are
ready to argue their case
in December of 2000.
But suddenly they get word
JoAnn has changed her mind.
JoAnn turns around and pleads
guilty to the murder charges.
Completely surprised
me and all of us.
There was no way that she
was going to plead guilty.
JoAnn was the talker
and the person who loved
bragging about stuff.
It's like, didn't
see that coming.
[Chris]: JoAnn decided to plead
guilty to first-degree murder.
I'm sure that JoAnn Peterson's
attorney advised her
that she was at
high risk of getting
an aggravated murder conviction,
in which case she would
have gotten a, a sentence of
life in prison and she
would've never gotten out.
[Narrator]: However, the
impact of JoAnn's manipulation
will not soon be forgotten.
[Mark]: Pete was always a
good father, very caring.
Loved his daughter dearly.
Not only were her
grandparents in prison,
her mom dies and her dad's dead.
This poor girl just
ended up with no family.
She never did get a chance
to know her father's family
and, uh, that was a real shame.
[Peter]: People had
great respect for Pete.
Pete was just a
wonderful person.
He was always happy,
in a good mood.
Uh, he was a hard worker.
He was friendly.
It was hard to find
fault with Pete.
[music]