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1:42

500. A

1:46

shotgun blast through a windshield ends

1:49

the life of a dedicated father

1:51

in an instant. When

1:55

I saw the carnage in this

1:57

car, it reminded me of a

1:59

mob style execution. An

2:02

execution that the victim's field

2:04

was coming. He had

2:06

been at the target of an earlier shooting. Where they

2:08

didn't get him. Whoever had

2:11

done this first shooting had gotten

2:13

away and had not

2:15

been identified. He knew somebody

2:17

was trying to kill him. He

2:19

was wearing a bulletproof vest. The time did he

2:21

was 12. Investigators

2:24

realize no witness is

2:26

safe. People

2:29

were just scared. If they

2:31

said anything, they would either be killed

2:34

or harmed. One

2:37

detective must risk it all

2:39

to expose a heartless mastermind.

2:43

She gave me instructions to meet her

2:45

at the cemetery and to come along.

2:48

Worst case was that somebody was going to

2:50

be waiting there to ambush me. Authorities

2:54

uncover a meticulous plot

2:56

crafted by a powerful criminal.

3:00

It was fairly astounding the control she

3:02

was able to exert over other people.

3:05

She was a woman that you need

3:07

to be fearful of. Because

3:09

if you crossed her, she was going to get you.

3:26

November 18, 1991. Spokane,

3:29

Washington. It's 7

3:31

PM when a frenzy of 911 calls flood

3:35

into the Spokane County Sheriff's Office,

3:37

reporting a shooting at the Willow

3:39

Street apartment. I

3:42

was home after a full day

3:44

shift on a Monday night. I only got

3:46

a call that I was needed to respond

3:48

to a homicide scene in the Spokane

3:50

Valley. When

3:52

first responders arrived, they quickly gathered

3:55

information from several of the witnesses

3:57

who called 911. People

4:00

in the complex heard the gunshots

4:02

and then you know immediately call

4:05

police and person the said this

4:07

than a scape right away. They

4:10

direct officers to a vehicle where

4:12

they located in the unresponsive mail

4:14

slumps behind the steering. Wall.

4:17

That he's found him shot dead

4:19

in his vehicle. Forensics,

4:29

People were called out and started their

4:31

mister isn't Earth's. Crime

4:35

Scene was a small

4:37

apartment complex. Parking Live.

4:40

There was a male in

4:43

the car. those foie gras

4:45

still see belted into the

4:47

driver's the and D had

4:49

a massive head and face.

4:54

The level, of course it

4:56

is shocking even Four Seasons

4:58

detect as. The he'd

5:00

been shot point blank almost to

5:03

the side has actually been

5:05

through a window glass. He had

5:07

died instantly. To the card is

5:10

it's in this car. There was

5:12

no question that he was

5:14

a target dead. Somebody was making

5:16

sure to stay limits. That

5:20

reminded me of a mud

5:22

style execution. Depend

5:25

on a lot of homicide seems to and we

5:27

just didn't see those in our area of. The

5:33

trigger. Left a key piece of

5:35

evidence on the ground. And just a

5:37

few feet from the car. For

5:40

some the committed the crime left

5:42

the shock on their. The.

5:45

Shock your and let us do this. They

5:47

feel that was probably the murder weapon. It

5:51

was a Winchester twelve gauge, the

5:53

only distinguishing things on yeah, it

5:55

was a little chunk of would

5:57

that was broken out of this.

6:00

And there was some type of

6:03

treat rub off on his well.

6:08

While technicians continue pressing.

6:12

Question residents in the apartment complex

6:14

to id the victim. He

6:18

was identified as Peter Zion. He

6:21

was not forty years old. The.

6:24

Witnesses and apartment complex home.

6:29

With his. At.

6:31

He is probably just arrived home

6:34

from work when the shooting occurred.

6:39

Have any idea why I. Target

6:41

and such a brutal murder.

6:45

Starting. Into this investigation there

6:47

was many many background questions

6:49

surrounding P. Zion. This is

6:52

part of this man with

6:54

one done by somebody and

6:56

they made sure they got

6:58

him. Why

7:00

would somebody sneak up on him in

7:02

an ambush? Own

7:10

in June. Twenty Seventh Nineteen

7:12

Fifty one, Peter Zion came

7:14

from modest roots. Peter.

7:17

Grown up and to rely

7:19

washington they have lived on

7:21

a small farm where they

7:23

had it mill. Piece.

7:26

Our father was a real

7:28

hard working guy that would

7:30

work the fields and knew

7:33

how to do just about

7:35

everything around the farm feats.

7:37

Mom was on the city

7:39

council. They were a strong.

7:41

Base. Ah for p to

7:44

grow up under. With.

7:47

A work ethic as strong as

7:49

his parents, Pete pursued a career

7:51

in a highly demanded trade. People

7:54

I've met at Spokane Community

7:56

College while we were taken

7:59

industrial Electricity. He

8:01

was good electrician hard

8:03

worker, friendly, outgoing can,

8:05

almost bubbly. At

8:08

thirty five years old, Pete was

8:10

living in Spokane, Washington when he

8:12

met someone who would change his

8:14

life forever. Thirty. Year old

8:17

or we'll go from an.

8:19

Avid runner, she met P during

8:21

a local road Rules. For

8:24

parents mail Goldberg and Joanne

8:26

they had one sign that

8:28

was deal they had two

8:30

daughters or even and Merv.

8:32

They were very well known.

8:36

Or mean worked for her parents? At their

8:38

realty office in New Port Washington

8:40

one hour outside of So can.

8:43

Do and Goldberg as the

8:46

matriarch spanned the main head

8:48

of the family. She made

8:50

the decisions she insisted things

8:52

be done her way. Mail

8:54

was pretty easy going and

8:57

was really friendly. Was a

8:59

really nice guy. Pete

9:03

and Er Een dated for about a

9:06

year before moving in together. For

9:08

months later or Rien became

9:10

pregnant. They married in

9:12

Nineteen Eighty Eight after the birth of

9:14

their daughter and made their home in

9:16

Spokane. His

9:18

eyes were just twinkle Talking about

9:21

this little girl he smiles merely

9:23

year he thought she was just

9:25

heaven on earth. But

9:30

Nine, Nineteen eighty Nine. Not everything

9:32

and pizza life was going as

9:35

smoothly as fatherhood. As

9:38

it not long after that the child was

9:40

born that they're married started to go. He

9:44

was a good father, his daughter

9:46

meant a lot to him. He

9:48

made that very clear and I

9:51

think that he would have stayed

9:53

married for the sake of as.

9:56

When they're at sense to reconcile

9:58

sailed or mean left. Their

10:00

infant daughter. When

10:03

she laughed and tix trials

10:05

he moved up to Newport,

10:08

Washington Reuters about sixty miles

10:10

from Spokane. That was

10:12

to her parents residents. Or

10:15

and kind of kept a low

10:17

profile and let her mother show

10:19

and really handles. He

10:25

began traveling to the Goldberg's on

10:28

the weekends to spend time with

10:30

his daughter and eventually filed for

10:32

divorce. That's. Course

10:34

involved a request for.

10:37

On visitation with his daughter

10:39

and at least partial custody

10:42

of his daughter and that

10:44

just didn't sit well with

10:46

joy. As

10:49

not the way that she imagined

10:51

her family with the granddaughter been

10:53

able to be away for any

10:55

period. The

10:58

divorce proceedings they became a

11:00

bit ugly. Joy

11:03

As is basically told feeder

11:05

that is no way You.

11:07

Will find you. Get my Grandpa! He

11:12

was going through the custody battle.

11:14

He was sad term depressed over

11:16

the whole situation. He wanted to

11:18

get his mind in a position

11:20

where you to go on with

11:22

his life. While.

11:27

Pete struggled for access to

11:29

his beloved daughter. He found

11:31

solace in his work and

11:33

eventually met someone new thirty

11:35

four year old selling Eakin.

11:38

We. Have some discussions about

11:40

her. She was a very

11:42

good person. had a good

11:45

responsible shop. In

11:47

the fall of Ninety Nine, just about

11:49

a year after his split, the Marine

11:51

Pete was starting to settle into a

11:54

new life with Helen. The

11:56

was living with and and at

11:58

her apartment her and. Pete were

12:00

waiting for the divorce to be final

12:02

so they could move forward in a

12:04

relationship. It was going through

12:07

a hard time going through a divorce but he still

12:09

had a good outlook on life. While

12:16

Pete's attempt at a fresh start is

12:18

cut short on November 18th, 1991. His

12:23

shots point blank range with the

12:26

shotgun through the window

12:28

right at his head and he dies

12:31

instantly. The shotgun

12:33

is dropped there at the scene,

12:36

the assailant fled.

12:39

Though the scene indicates an

12:42

ambush, what investigators discover under

12:44

Pete's coat swiftly calls that

12:46

theory into question. He

12:49

was carrying a handgun. In

12:51

fact he was also wearing a bulletproof

12:53

vest. It

12:56

was not common for us to

12:58

encounter people wearing bulletproof vests at

13:00

that time. If he had one

13:02

on it was quite unusual. He

13:05

told me that he was scared and

13:07

he was trying to protect himself. Coming

13:13

up, detectives discover this

13:15

isn't the first time the

13:17

victim faced an armed assailant

13:19

held then on murder. This

13:23

person was chasing him, bullets

13:25

hitting off brick through the

13:27

alley. He was

13:29

a changed guy. Paranoia had said

13:31

you. November

13:41

18th, 1991. Spokane,

13:44

Washington. Investigators

13:46

on the scene of Pete

13:48

Zion's ambush-style murder are working

13:50

to piece together a puzzling

13:52

array of clues. Crime

13:56

scene Essentially consisted of the

13:58

card at the. There to

14:00

move and his body and

14:03

the shotgun on the ground.

14:05

There really wasn't any other

14:07

physical evidence. There was no

14:09

video evidence or anything else.

14:12

it seem rather a new

14:14

surveillance cameras in the area.

14:16

Police do find a potential

14:18

witness. At the time of

14:21

the shooting, one of the

14:23

tenants in the apartments pamela

14:25

heard the shot, ran outside

14:27

and saw a gold or.

14:30

Can colored physical accelerate very

14:32

fast as the parking lot

14:34

onto the screen. Really

14:39

say for sure that people with

14:41

there was more than one he

14:43

just knew there was a noise

14:45

there's a car race amount of

14:47

their her. being able to identify

14:49

the car is specifically did was

14:51

pretty helpful because a lot of

14:53

witnesses aren't that good. Officers

14:59

fan out in search of the

15:01

vehicle based on the description lol.

15:04

Detectives begin tracking down Peat's loved

15:06

ones. At. The time as

15:08

of his murder teacher was living with

15:10

his girlfriend Helen. He can. Investigators

15:14

immediately locate the couple's apartment

15:16

within the complex to break

15:18

the news. This. Is

15:20

typical police procedure to interview

15:23

boyfriends, girlfriends, significant others, Meeting

15:26

with Helen, her reaction to

15:28

Vpn dad was appropriate to

15:31

someone who had just suffered

15:33

a severe loss. She

15:37

was home for the evening. She

15:39

had heard the sound. Was

15:44

gonna die. When.

15:50

Did such as as telling about the

15:52

handgun and bullet proof vest found on

15:54

T. Helen. Reveals some

15:57

startling. New this he

15:59

had also. Been the

16:01

target of it. Earlier shootings were

16:03

they didn't get. Facsimile

16:10

of two weeks earlier was

16:12

taught. Us. At

16:14

seven o'clock in the morning, he had gotten up

16:16

for work. Noticed that his

16:18

tireless flat on his car. And

16:22

drove across the street to

16:24

a a mini mart. You

16:27

want to reinflate the tire, at which time.

16:30

He. Notices somebody was standing by

16:32

him and when he looked up

16:34

there was a figure that had

16:36

a i've Richard Nixon. Mess. That

16:40

person was holding us a revolver. This

16:44

person is completely disguise heavy

16:46

clothing and some to that

16:48

are faced and they immediately

16:50

fired a round out. To

16:55

react for jumping up starts running

16:57

this person keep chasing him shooting

16:59

rounds as a rough. Short,

17:03

stocky person. Was

17:06

chasing him bullets city not

17:08

breaks through the alley. None

17:12

of the routes hit him and

17:14

the person finally leaves them out

17:16

of sight. Figures on the phone

17:18

calls. nine on Wednesday nights. got

17:20

shot. Allen

17:25

confirms that Pete filed a police

17:27

report. Two weeks earlier. Whoever

17:31

done this for shooting at

17:33

Pizza Guy and had gotten

17:35

away and had not been

17:37

identified? Examination at

17:39

the same determine that there was

17:42

a hole in the tire in

17:44

a place that somebody had posted

17:46

the tire intensely to let the

17:49

air house. And

17:54

statement. he

17:56

offered of his theory of who

17:58

was responsible He

18:01

told detectives

18:03

that the reason

18:05

why I think this happened is because I'm

18:07

in a bitter child custody dispute. Peter,

18:11

you know, made it very clear

18:13

that if anything happened to him,

18:15

that it would be his

18:17

ex-wife's family that they needed to look

18:20

at it. So

18:22

I'm a short time after that, and

18:25

he was a

18:27

changed guy. I mean, he was... paranoia

18:29

had said to him on him. He

18:31

was scared to death. Because

18:33

back his mind, he knew somebody was trying to

18:35

kill him. He

18:37

told him that, well, from now on, I'm going

18:39

to start carrying a sidearm with me and wear

18:42

a bulletproof vest. Though

18:47

Pete felt confident he knew who

18:49

was out to kill him, he

18:52

died before investigators could substantiate his

18:54

claims. That case

18:56

is still being looked into at the

18:58

time the murder occurred. Another

19:01

detective handled that investigation,

19:03

and the issues with

19:06

Pete, his strange

19:08

wife, Irene, and the child custody

19:10

had been brought up. But there

19:13

hadn't been any interviews conducted yet.

19:15

There wasn't really much evidence to

19:17

really narrow it down. After

19:23

learning of Pete's accusations towards his

19:25

former in-laws, homicide detectives reach out

19:28

to Pete's longtime attorney to learn

19:30

more about the custody battle. They

19:34

appointed a guardian idol item, which is

19:36

not unusual in a divorce case. So

19:38

the guardian idol item is there to

19:40

protect the child and to give a

19:42

candid opinion to the judge as to

19:45

who would be the best parent. Your

19:48

report said that Irene should have

19:50

custody, and

19:52

that Pete would have

19:55

traditional visitation,

19:57

which would include overnights on weekends.

20:06

Irene's family had sworn that he's

20:08

never going to see his daughter.

20:12

Joanne could not stand to have her

20:15

granddaughter be given to Peter, her

20:17

son-in-law, even on the

20:22

weekend. She decided she would

20:24

take care of it. Her

20:27

way to try and take care of it is she

20:29

alleged sexual abuse by

20:31

Mr. Zion on his own daughter.

20:40

He denied these false allegations

20:43

against him. Child

20:45

Protective Services got involved. The

20:48

Spokane Police Department got involved

20:51

and were conducting an

20:53

investigation. They

20:55

said that there was a lack of

20:57

probable cause and the clinical psychologist thought

20:59

it was unusual that

21:03

she met with Irene and that there was

21:05

never any discussion about any sexual

21:07

abuse with the child and then

21:09

all of a sudden it popped

21:11

up afterwards. So

21:14

they came to the decision that there

21:16

wasn't any substance to these allegations.

21:21

With his name cleared, Pete

21:23

continued to advocate for visitation.

21:26

It was coming down to a pivotal

21:28

time in the divorce proceedings because the

21:31

trial was forthcoming. The

21:33

final decisions were going to be made, who the

21:36

child would go with, if there was going

21:38

to be child support, visitation,

21:40

those types of issues that

21:42

surrounded the infant child. As

21:49

homicide detectives dig into the police report

21:52

from the first attempt on Pete's life,

21:55

one detail immediately stands

21:57

out. And that first shooting...

22:00

Three weeks before Pete was murdered, there

22:03

was another witness in the parking

22:05

lot that had seen this car

22:07

leaving the scene. It

22:10

was a tan or brown colored car, and

22:14

it had fled out of the area and

22:16

out of view. He

22:19

knew that there was a connection with the

22:21

getaway car because of the fact that, you

22:23

know, it was described as a

22:25

brown car. In

22:27

the first shooting, second shooting as well.

22:30

Detectives released the witness's description of

22:32

the vehicle to the public. It's

22:36

a shot in the dark, but you try to

22:38

at least get something to start looking for. Coming,

22:46

a flood of tips rushes in.

22:49

Witnesses came out to the same vehicle.

22:51

They've been parked in front of their

22:53

residence for a couple of weeks. And

22:57

the killer tries to silence witnesses

22:59

at any cost. She

23:02

was really afraid of

23:04

providing more information. They

23:07

said, you know, not for nothing, but

23:09

we are extremely scared of this family.

23:12

Within a couple of weeks, the house has

23:14

been set up for it. He's

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rocketmoney.com/wondery. November

25:21

19th, 1991. Less than 24 hours after

25:23

the murder of 40-year-old Pete Zion, a

25:25

bolo issued for the getaway car yields promising leads

25:27

from Spokane locals. Photos

25:32

were publicly disseminated of the vehicle. Witnesses recognized those

25:35

photos and

25:39

made contact with the sheriff's office. We got

25:41

called that the vehicle was a Bolo. We

25:46

got called that this car was sitting

25:48

out pretty much in plain view

25:50

in front of this lady's house, approximately

25:53

half a mile or so from where the murder occurred. Investigators

26:00

investigators respond and find a car

26:02

matching the description of the getaway

26:04

vehicle parked on the suburban street.

26:07

The vehicle was recovered, abandoned

26:09

in front of a residential

26:11

house. The license plates had

26:14

been altered to make them not

26:16

identifiable immediately. The

26:19

altered plates raised the level of

26:21

suspicion. Inside

26:24

the unlocked Chevrolet, investigators find

26:26

the VIN and run it through

26:28

their database. It turned out

26:30

the car had been stolen a couple of

26:32

weeks prior to all this from an area

26:34

in North School Camp, probably 10 miles from

26:37

where the murder occurred. Because

26:40

of that, we were able to seize

26:42

this evidence. We

26:46

still hadn't necessarily confirmed it as the

26:49

murder vehicle, but we did take a

26:51

picture of it back to Pamela at

26:53

the apartment complexes. She identified

26:55

that car in the picture as

26:58

the same one she had seen leading

27:00

the scene of the murder. While

27:06

crime scene texts sweep the car

27:09

for evidence, investigators interview Pete's estranged

27:11

wife, Oreen, and her parents, Mel

27:13

and Joanne, on November 19th. Police

27:18

suspected the family

27:20

members because of all of

27:22

just the rancor and the

27:24

animosity that had come

27:27

up from the divorce

27:29

proceedings. Mel,

27:31

Joanne, and Oreen

27:33

said that they would be

27:36

willing to sit down and answer any of our questions,

27:39

but only as a group, and

27:42

that that was the only way they

27:44

would do it. The

27:49

family offers alibis for the night

27:51

of Pete's murder. The

27:53

family told investigators that they were in

27:55

a family dinner. Joanne

27:58

and Mel's daughter and son-in-law, Merv

28:00

and Greg alibi them for

28:03

that late afternoon, early evening.

28:06

The family had shown up sometime in

28:08

the afternoon and stayed for

28:10

dinner. So from

28:13

five o'clock to nine o'clock, they were

28:15

at Greg and Merv's house. Family

28:21

members all had strong alibis,

28:23

and police couldn't connect the

28:25

family to the first shooting

28:27

or the second shooting. With

28:31

nothing to hold the Goldberg family on,

28:33

investigators let them go. We

28:37

could not say who actually

28:39

pulled the triggers. And

28:44

detectives hit another dead end when

28:46

the search of the suspected getaway

28:48

vehicle yields no results. We

28:52

were feeling pretty confident we had the right car,

28:54

but we didn't have anything in

28:56

the car immediately to identify

28:58

anybody that had used it.

29:01

Without any physical evidence and no

29:04

new leads to follow, the investigation

29:06

begins to stall in 1992. It

29:11

wasn't progressing much, and

29:13

I had other cases I was working on,

29:15

but I would make callbacks often

29:18

to everybody that we

29:20

had talked to before to develop further

29:23

information, but it

29:25

was moving slowly. It

29:28

really goes cold when there's not other

29:31

tips or new information coming

29:33

in to act upon. In

29:40

late November of 1993, Newport

29:43

residents Bob Lamb and Marcy Harrington

29:45

reach out to the Spokane County

29:47

Sheriff's Office with information that could

29:49

break the case wide open. Bob

29:54

and Marcy Harrington were neighbors of

29:56

the Goldberg's property up in the

29:59

Newport area. They

30:01

said they were the owner of

30:03

the shotgun that was

30:06

used in this murder. Of

30:09

course, that got my attention immediately. Detectives

30:13

are curious. After all,

30:16

they've never released a description of the

30:18

murder weapon to the public. Bob

30:21

Lamb identified this shotgun

30:24

specifically with the particulars

30:26

about the damage to the wood

30:29

stock and the paint rub-off.

30:32

They had it stored kind of

30:34

in an off-the-hallway up against behind

30:36

a door. One

30:39

day, Irene's brother, Phil Goldberg, had showed

30:41

up. He picked it up and walked

30:43

out with it. It

30:45

wasn't unusual because Phil Goldberg was known

30:47

to borrow their stuff often. But

30:51

after Pete's murder, they say

30:53

Phil started acting strange. He

30:56

went back to the neighbor and attempted to buy

30:58

the weapon for them, explaining that he couldn't return

31:00

it. Investigators

31:05

ask Bob and Marcy why it

31:07

took them so long to contact

31:10

police, and they confess their guilt

31:12

has finally outweighed their fear. And

31:15

they said, you know, not for

31:17

nothing, but we are extremely

31:19

scared of this family, and

31:22

we didn't come forward to cooperate originally with

31:25

any information because of our extreme fear. After

31:31

speaking with Bob and Marcy, it quickly

31:34

becomes clear that the couple had a

31:36

good reason to be afraid. Within

31:39

a couple of weeks, Bob and Marcy's husband

31:42

burned down. We

31:44

were pretty convinced that it had been set

31:47

on fire, and it was

31:49

because the conversations about them being

31:51

with us were going to be

31:53

asked to contact. to

32:00

the Goldberg family to the fire. And

32:04

of course, as a result, Mr.

32:06

Lamb decided they no longer wanted

32:08

to cooperate, out of fear of what

32:10

might happen to them. After

32:15

the fire, Pete's case stagnates

32:17

yet again, leaving investigators

32:19

frustrated. Someone

32:22

is making sure that no one's going

32:24

to talk because they're going to be

32:27

fearful for their life. So

32:29

without any hard evidence whatsoever,

32:31

the police are just stuck.

32:34

This case languishes for

32:37

several years. There

32:39

is no break in the case whatsoever. Then

32:47

in 1999, eight years

32:49

after Pete's murder, investigators

32:51

get a big break. I

32:55

got a call in my office from

32:57

a lady who was

32:59

real mysterious, and

33:02

she wanted to talk about the Pete

33:05

Zion murder. She

33:07

knew somebody who had told her

33:09

they had committed this murder. She

33:13

was pretty reluctant. She mentioned being

33:15

fearful. It

33:17

was called after quite a bit of convincing. Finally said,

33:19

I'll tell you my first name, which

33:22

she did, it was Shirley. Shirley

33:25

agrees to meet Detective Henderson,

33:27

but only under certain conditions.

33:31

She said, well, you come and meet

33:33

me, and it's going to be in the

33:35

cemetery outside of town. She said,

33:37

if I see anybody else or any police cars

33:39

around, she says, I'm gone. You will

33:42

never talk to me again.

33:44

I'm here. Coming up. To

33:47

solve the case, Detective Henderson

33:49

put his life on the line. The

33:52

worst case that came to mind was

33:54

that somebody was there to either ambush

33:57

me or was going to come in

33:59

with. gun to blur it. July

34:02

1999. It's

34:10

been eight years since Pete Zion's brutal

34:12

murder. Detective

34:16

Mark Henderson is heading to a

34:19

cemetery in northern Idaho to meet

34:21

a potential witness alone.

34:24

I did not think it was a

34:26

smart idea, but I think it was

34:28

a calculated risk that I felt after

34:31

years of chasing this case, this may

34:33

be the golden key.

34:36

I kind of was on alert until this pickup shows

34:38

up and I meet this lady. And

34:41

she starts telling me some details about the

34:43

murder case. She mentioned

34:45

where the car had been

34:47

stashed and gave the

34:49

information on the gun. And

34:52

she knows about this murder better than I do. Either

34:56

she did it or she's talking to the person that

34:58

did it. When

35:02

Detective Henderson asks Shirley who her source

35:05

is, she brings a long time suspect

35:08

back into the spotlight. Her

35:10

new friend, Joanne. Joanne

35:14

and Mel Goldberg, her husband,

35:16

got a divorce relatively quickly

35:19

after Pete's death. And

35:22

Joanne resettled up in Idaho. Formerly

35:27

Joanne Goldberg. Shirley's neighbor since

35:30

1998 now goes

35:32

by her maiden name, Peterson. Shirley

35:36

says over the past year the

35:38

two women became fast friends. But

35:41

things took a turn recently when

35:43

Joanne began divulging a dark

35:45

secret. Joanne

35:49

started to open up about her life

35:51

and things she had done. And

35:55

she started talking about the murder

35:57

of Peter Zion. And

36:02

admitted that she was the mastermind behind

36:04

it all. Not

36:09

only should we now have statements

36:11

from her, but Joanne offers to

36:13

take her to Spokane for lunch.

36:15

And after they're done with lunch,

36:17

Joanne drives her short distance away

36:19

into the parking lot of the

36:21

apartment complex, stops,

36:23

points to the slide,

36:25

and says that's where

36:27

Pete got shot and

36:29

killed it. It was a

36:32

very detailed statement made

36:34

by Shirley. She's got

36:36

her pointing out the crime scene and

36:38

describing it to her to a T,

36:41

basically. Shirley's

36:44

statement is shocking, but detectives

36:46

need to corroborate her story before

36:48

they can bring Joanne in. Then,

36:54

a little over a month later, they

36:57

get an unexpected visit from her son,

36:59

Theo, and her daughter, Mer. Theo

37:02

and his sister decide that they

37:05

got to talk. They

37:08

go to the police and tell them what

37:10

had happened to Peter Zion and

37:12

that their mother had escaped.

37:18

The two then provide detectives

37:20

with details about the night of November 18,

37:22

1991. The

37:26

night of the murder, Mer and

37:28

her husband get a phone call from Joanne

37:31

who says they're in Spokane at a

37:33

store, and they're

37:36

heading towards Mer's house. This

37:39

is probably 7.30-ish in the evening,

37:41

and they say,

37:43

well, why? They

37:46

were going to demand that Mer alibi

37:48

them for that late afternoon or evening.

37:55

But Theo Goldberg admits to a much

37:57

bigger role than the murder. Theo

38:00

was the one who got ahold of the

38:03

weapon that ultimately

38:05

was used to kill Peter Zion.

38:09

He got the shotgun from the neighbors

38:11

and then took it to his mother.

38:17

Theo confirms that in addition to the

38:19

murder, his parents were involved in

38:21

the first ambush on Pete. Theo

38:27

confirmed Joanne was the trigger

38:29

person and that all

38:31

of them had been part of the planning,

38:33

including Maureen. Detectives

38:38

ask why the siblings have decided

38:40

to come forward now after all

38:43

these years. They

38:45

became convinced that Joanne was going

38:47

off the deep end and

38:49

she was coming after them

38:52

and Mel. Joanne

38:54

had started making some threats towards Mel

38:57

and Theo was getting real concerned about being around

38:59

her and he was essentially getting scared of her.

39:03

I think keeping this family secret for so

39:05

long was weighing on Theo. He

39:07

was just so overcome with that guilt and

39:10

I think with finally deciding he didn't want to

39:12

be controlled, like he was being

39:14

controlled by his mother, he finally

39:17

decided to come forward. Theo

39:22

says Arene continued to raise her

39:25

daughter and the family intended to

39:27

insulate her from any trouble, but

39:29

things haven't worked out as planned.

39:32

Arene at the time was

39:34

suffering from brain cancer and

39:37

she was at high risk of

39:41

that ending her life. In

39:47

late October 1999, officers move in on Joanne Peterson.

39:55

We took Joanne into custody on

39:57

the federal weapons charge on that

39:59

date. When news

40:01

of Joanne's arrest spreads, her

40:03

ex-husband Mel Goldberg surrenders

40:05

to police. He

40:09

basically opened up and said, yeah, I did

40:11

this. She did it. And I was involved.

40:13

I was the getaway driver. Mel

40:18

agrees to tell detectives exactly what

40:20

happened the night of the murder.

40:24

He filled in the blanks. Mel

40:29

and Joanne were waiting to see Pete

40:31

pulling his parking lot. They

40:33

had a place where they could watch him

40:36

from, discreetly. After

40:38

Mr. Zajean had backed his car in, Mel

40:40

drove up to Mr. Zajean's vehicle. Ms.

40:43

Peterson got out of the passenger seat of

40:45

the vehicle with a shotgun. Mel

40:49

tells police Joanne wanted to

40:52

make sure that Peter would

40:54

know that she was the

40:56

one that was going to

40:58

kill him. And

41:02

she looked him right in the eye and

41:04

then pulled the trigger. After

41:12

she had disheartened his firearm into

41:14

Mr. Zajean killing him, she dropped

41:16

the shotgun. I

41:19

don't think that shotgun was meant to be left behind.

41:22

I think she shot that

41:24

gun and that surprised the hell out of her. Coming

41:30

up, the case seems like

41:33

a surefire wind for prosecutors. At

41:36

this point, really the case is going to be a

41:38

slam dunk. But

41:40

the defendants have other plans.

41:44

We expect them to be jealous

41:46

because you fully can have these

41:48

things. Following

41:57

detailed confessions from Joanne...

42:00

Peterson's estranged family, police file

42:02

an array of charges in

42:04

the murder of Pete Zayy. Both

42:08

Mr. Goldberg and

42:10

Joanne Peterson were charged with aggravated

42:12

first degree murder, and

42:15

Thel was charged with first degree

42:17

murder because he had obtained

42:19

the shotgun knowing what it would be used

42:21

for. Despite suspicions

42:23

of her involvement, Pete's ex-wife

42:26

Oreen continues to evade the

42:28

law. Oreen,

42:30

at the time of the prosecution,

42:33

was suffering from brain cancer. It

42:35

wasn't a slam dunk case against her,

42:38

and the elected prosecutor ultimately made the

42:40

decision that she would not be charged

42:42

for those reasons. In

42:48

January 2000, Thel Goldberg

42:50

cements his fate. The

42:54

Thel pled guilty to a reduced charge of

42:56

second degree murder. Of

42:58

course, that was a negotiated place. He

43:02

got the benefit of the fact that he came forward

43:05

and broke this case. Pete

43:08

Goldberg received a fairly

43:10

lenient sentence for his cooperation,

43:13

and he agreed to testify

43:15

in trial against his parents. At

43:19

this point, really the case is going to

43:21

be a slam dunk. We

43:26

expected Mel to plead guilty because

43:28

he fully confessed, but

43:31

he didn't. When

43:33

the time comes for Mel Goldberg

43:35

to submit his plea, his decision is

43:37

a shock to prosecutors. I'm

43:41

going to try. Mel

43:43

Goldberg was scared to death in June in Peterson.

43:46

He would have done whatever she requested him to

43:48

do during the time they were buried. But

43:53

prosecutors argue he is far

43:55

from innocent. It

43:58

was very clear to us. as prosecutors

44:01

that he was highly involved

44:03

in the planning. And

44:05

he was actively involved, of course, in covering up

44:08

the murder after it occurred. Mr.

44:11

Wilbert was sentenced to life

44:13

in prison without the possibility of parole. As

44:19

prosecutors prepare for Joanne's trial,

44:21

they work to pin down

44:23

her motives. Joanne's

44:25

a person who was just totally

44:28

self-involved and controlling and wanted

44:32

to control every part of her own

44:34

life. And so that extended to her

44:36

family. And she just

44:38

could not envision having

44:41

her granddaughter leaving her

44:43

family to visit, even with

44:46

her own biological father. She

44:49

decided to commit this murder so that

44:51

he would not get hesitation in this

44:53

custody case. Prosecutors

44:58

are ready to argue their case in December

45:00

of 2000. But

45:02

suddenly they get word Joanne has

45:04

changed her mind. Joanne

45:07

turns around and pleads guilt through the

45:09

murder. Completely

45:14

surprised me and all of us. There was no way

45:16

that she was going to plead guilty. Joanne

45:19

was the talker and the

45:21

person who loved bragging about

45:23

stuff. It's like, didn't

45:25

see that coming. Joanne

45:27

decided to plead guilty to

45:29

first degree murder. I'm

45:32

sure that Joanne Peterson's attorney advised her

45:34

that she was at high risk of

45:37

getting an aggravated murder conviction. In

45:39

which case she would have gotten a sense of

45:41

legal prison she would have never gotten. However,

45:47

the impact of Joanne's

45:49

manipulation will not soon be

45:51

forgotten. He

45:54

was always a good father, very

45:57

caring, loved his daughter dearly. Not

46:00

only were her grandparents in prison, her

46:02

mom dies and her dad's dead, this

46:05

poor girl just ended up

46:07

with no family. She

46:09

never did get a chance to know

46:11

her father's family, and that

46:14

was a real shame. People

46:17

had great respect for Pete. Pete

46:19

was just a wonderful person. He's

46:22

always happy in a good mood. He

46:25

was a hard worker. He was

46:27

friendly. It was hard

46:29

to find fault with Pete. Neil

46:36

Goldberg was released from prison in 2004 after

46:39

serving three years of his four-year sentence. Orrin

46:42

Goldberg died of brain cancer in 2005 when

46:45

her daughter was 18 years old. Mel

46:48

Goldberg died in prison in April of 2020. Two

46:51

months later, Joanne Peterson died while serving

46:53

her life sentence at Washington State Prison.

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