SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 38, NO. 52
SECTION A
SEPTEMBER 29, 2017
$1.00
Murder conviction overturned
IN THE WEEKS LEADING UP TO THE MURDER:
• Peter and Lisa Zielinski's
martial problems begin
ratcheting up.
• Lisa tells Peter she
wants a divorce.
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The Appeals Court of Or-
egon has overturned the 2013
murder conviction of Peter
Zielinski who was charged
with the shooting death of his
wife, Lisa, in January 2011.
The court issued the opin-
ion on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
Peter Zielinski pleaded guilty
to shooting and killing his wife
in 2013 and was sentenced to
SUNDAY, JAN. 9, 2011
Peter discovers email exchanges
between Lisa and the co-worker.
When confronted, Lisa admits to
an affair and says she wants to
leave Peter and plan a future with
the new love interest. Peter calls
the wife of the co-worker and
forwards one of the emails to
Lisa's boss and co-workers.
• Peter discovers hundreds
of text messages between
Lisa and a co-worker,
including at least one that
contradicts a prior claim.
• The Zielinskis attend a
marriage counseling session.
When the counselor asks Lisa
what she hopes to achieve,
Lisa responds, “Nothing.”
he didn't want the couple's
daughter to discover his body.
phone to contact police
at 7:12 a.m claiming his “wife
needed an ambulance.”
TUESDAY, JAN. 11, 2011
After a fi ght, Lisa leaves the
couple's home and Peter claims
to have put his gun to his head
intending to commit suicide. He
says he stopped himself because
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 12, 2011
(Day of the murder) Peter told
the court he was “at his wits end.”
Lisa shook her head in disgust
when Peter tried to hug her.
He went to get a glass of water
and instead went to his closet
and pulled out a .40-caliber gun.
He found Lisa in the bathroom
and shot her in the head. Peter
takes the couple's daughter to
her carpool and arrives outside
the Keizer Police Department
where he uses an emergency
MONDAY, NOV. 18, 2013
After previously pleading not
guilty to the crime, Peter changes
his plea to guilty with the
stipulation that he can appeal.
life in prison with the possibil-
ity of parole after 25 years, but
his plea included the right to
appeal.
In the opinion issued by
the court, Judge P.J. Armstong
wrote that the facts of the case
were undisputed. However, by
not allowing expert testimony
that would have cast Zielin-
ski as being affected extreme
emotional disturbance and
suffering from anxiety disor-
der, the lower court had over-
stepped the intent of the law.
MONDAY, JAN. 31, 2011
Peter is indicted for
the murder of his wife.
TUESDAY, NOV. 19, 2013
Judge Dale Penn sentences Peter
to life in prison with the possibility
of parole after 25 years.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 20, 2017
The Oregon Court of Appeals
overturns the conviction – saying
the court erred when it did not
allow expert testimony about
Peter's mental state during the
crime – and sends it back to
Marion County Circuit Court.
“(The) defendant’s anxiety
disorder, as explained in this
case, bears a closer resem-
blance to physical illness or
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Lakepoint Community Church volunteer Mark Sykes paints the face of Adrian Angel during Servefest Sunday, Sept. 24. The church's
annual event offers numerous free services as an outreach project. More photos from the event are on Page A10.
PAGE B1
Please see MURDER, Page A8
MHS
to hold
parking
forum
Ready to serve
Gridders
surge at
McKay
By ERIC A. HOWALD and
HERB SWETT
Of the Keizertimes
McNary High School is
planning a public forum on
parking issues at the school and
the impacts on surrounding
neighborhoods.
The forum is slated at 6 p.m.
on Thursday, Oct. 12, in the
McNary High School library,
595 Chemawa Road N.
Principal Erik Jespersen,
Keizer Police Chief John
Teague, Keizer City Manager
Chris Eppley and Mike Wolfe,
chief operations offi cer for the
Salem-Keizer School District
will all be on-hand to discuss
options and plan a path for-
ward.
“We're going to talk about
the current reality and what are
Aloha,
ladies
PAGE A2
Please see PARKING, Page A8
New law will attempt to
curb distracted driving
Submitted
Purple irises reach for the sky at sunset in fi elds just north of Keizer.
nset in fi elds just north of Keize.
KFD joins battle of
Eagle Creek blaze
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
Keizer Fire District picked
a heck of a time to get back on
the confl agration list.
Sean
Cummings, the
district's only certifi ed engine
boss, had just returned from
seven days on the Chetco
Bar fi re when he along with
three other Keizer fi refi ghters,
Timothy Coburn, C.J. Thorne
and Jason Perkins, were called
to Eagle Creek to join a
Marion County task force.
Chetco Bar and Eagle
Creek, according to the
United States Forest Service,
were at one point the No. 1
priority fi res in the nation.
The Keizer crew arrived in
Cascade Locks Monday, Sept.
4 at 4 p.m., two days after the
fi re that started with teenagers
throwing
fi reworks
near
Please see KFD, Page A7
By RANDOM
PENDRAGON
Keizertimes Intern
ib-
Distracted driving contr
of
se
rea
inc
st
ge
lar
the
uted to
s
ha
on
eg
traffi c fatalities Or
r-
ave
on
d
an
seen in a decade,
hurt or
age eight people are
driver
d
cte
tra
dis
a
by
killed
s are
tor
isla
each day. Oregon leg
nds
tre
se
tho
il
hoping to curta
.
law
with a new
use
On Oct. 1, Oregon Ho g
kin
ma
Bill 2597 takes effect
holding
it illegal to drive while
devices
ic
on
ctr
ele
or using
tablets,
such as cell phones and
built-
or
excluding hands-free
some
are
ere
in devices. Th
of
use
the
ing
lud
inc
exceptions,
ge A7
Please see LAW, Pa
A doggone
good show
PAGE A4
Powder Puffs
take fi eld
PAGE B3