SALEM, Ore. — A man has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years for shooting and killing his wife at their Keizer, Ore., home in January 2011.
The Statesman Journal reports that Peter Zielinski, 48, received the same sentence when he pleaded guilty in 2013.
Four years after the first sentence, the Oregon Court of Appeals overturned his conviction and sent the case back to court, ruling the trial court erred in excluding expert testimony of Zielinski’s anxiety disorder diagnosis. His attorneys said the testimony could support an extreme emotional disturbance defense.
After a two-week trial, jurors found him guilty of murder and determined Zielinski was not acting under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance when he intentionally killed 38-year-old Lisa Zielinski.
Peter Zielinski’s attorney had asked for a 10-year sentence. The court heard evidence that Zielinski was a Marine who served with distinction, he has no criminal history, and he’s been diagnosed with PTSD.
