Man arrested last week in the 1975 murder of my friends sister.. [Archive]

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Joe Seahawk

01-04-2008, 01:13 AM

In 1975 i was twelve years old and this murder will always remain on my mind.. I was good friends wit Dinah's little brother, we played soccer and baseball together at CYO Saint lukes, and lived a couple blocks from each other.. there were always several theories about who killed her, and Jim Groth's name always came up.

WTF took them so long!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22366705/

Charging Papers (http://www.kirotv.com/download/2007/1221/14908568.pdf)

Mr. Flopnuts

01-04-2008, 01:17 AM

Wow. I read about this in the PI last week. You knew her, and that guy? Sounds like her boyfriend took most of the heat back then, did you guys suspect Groth?

FAX

01-04-2008, 01:24 AM

Unbelievable. I don't know what to say, Mr. Joe Seahawk.

I'm glad they solved this.

FAX

Joe Seahawk

01-04-2008, 01:26 AM

Groth and another guy all of us were convinced one of the two killed her..

her little brother and I were pretty close. in fact only a week or so earlier I went with my buddy and Mr. Peterson and some siblings to their lake house.. I'll never forget it because it was the only time in my life to this day that I got to ride in the Camper overhang thing where it hangs over the cab. That was way cool to me at the time..

There was a bunch of his siblings with us at the time and I'm not sure if Dinah was one of them or not. He had a bunch of brothers and sisters.

One other quick note. another friend of mine lived 2 houses away and is now a deputy King county Prosecuter. I have not seen his name associated with this case however..

weird stuff..

I actually thought it might have been Ted Bundy.. :eek:

Valiant

01-04-2008, 01:26 AM

Wow.. hopefully somebody shanks him in prison, saving us tax dollars..

chagrin

01-04-2008, 06:16 AM

I'm glad that POS was caught; that kind of crime, it just gnaws at me - what a low life!

Maybe your friend's family can have some peace now.

Phobia

01-04-2008, 06:22 AM

Wow.. hopefully somebody shanks him in prison, saving us tax dollars..
I'll bet KCMizzou will be going back on the inside sometime soon. Talk to him.

kepp

01-04-2008, 08:11 AM

FAX

01-04-2008, 10:11 AM

There are a lot of things wrong with this story.

"In the years since Groth was first questioned about Peterson's death, he's been convicted three times for assaulting women, once in a 1985 case -- 10 years after Peterson's death -- in which he punched his then-wife so hard that doctors initially feared she had a fractured skull. The beating was prompted by her refusal to give him a ride, court documents say." This wasn't a clue?

Plus, the guy failed a lie detector exam at the time, had scratches on his hand and forearms, and was with her at the time. This smacks of bad police work.

And then there's this, "Peterson, one of eight children, had been sneaking out at night to see an older boy who also lived next door, despite her parents' disapproval. She would often go out through the sliding glass doors into the backyard. So, when she didn't come home that night, her parents figured that's where she went." So they didn't go out and look for her? She was sixteen years old, for crying out loud.

This is weird. Sad and weird.

FAX

Dave Lane

01-04-2008, 10:25 AM

Groth and a guy named *********** all of us were convinced one of the two killed her..

her little brother and I were pretty close. in fact only a week or so earlier I went with my buddy and Mr. Peterson and some siblings to their lake house.. I'll never forget it because it was the only time in my life to this day that I got to ride in the Camper overhang thing where it hangs over the cab. That was way cool to me at the time..

There was a bunch of his siblings with us at the time and I'm not sure if Dinah was one of them or not. He had a bunch of brothers and sisters.

One other quick note. another friend of mine lived 2 houses away and is now a deputy King county Prosecuter. I have not seen his name associated with this case however..

weird stuff..

I actually thought it might have been Ted Bundy.. :eek:

I'd guess this is your friend

"other than we've had fresh eyes looking at it and a prosecutor who has been intimately involved and that led us to probable cause."

Dave

Iowanian

01-04-2008, 10:35 AM

Sounds like the scumbag should have spent the past few decades in a dark, cold cell.

I hope it gives the family some closure.

mikeyis4dcats.

01-04-2008, 11:15 AM

WTF!

"Peterson's mother heard her daughter come home around 10:30 p.m. Minutes later, the mother heard two abrupt screams from the backyard. She peered outside and saw the shadow of her daughter apparently wrestling with someone, but thought she might be fooling around. The mother checked outside and called her daughter's name. No one responded."

How could someone hear that and see that and NOT go outside with a flashlight or turn on a porch light and see?

Frankie

01-04-2008, 11:16 AM

Groth and a guy named t** d***** all of us were convinced one of the two killed her.
Just a cautionary observation. You might get sued for libel if you post TD's full name. Unless he's been charged too in the murder. You might wanna edit your post.

Delano

01-04-2008, 11:20 AM

I'll bet KCMizzou will be going back on the inside sometime soon. Talk to him.

Hah! That one never gets old.

Duck Dog

01-04-2008, 11:23 AM

I'm glad the scum is off the streets but good lordy, why didn't the parents investigate the screams?

FAX

01-04-2008, 11:25 AM

I'm glad the scum is off the streets but good lordy, why didn't the parents investigate the screams?

Just what I was thinking, Mr. Duck Dog. If my daughter was in the backyard and I heard screams, I'd be out there in two seconds with a ball bat.

This is a strange story.

FAX

Joe Seahawk

01-04-2008, 11:26 AM

Just a cautionary observation. You might get sued for libel if you post TD's full name. Unless he's been charged too in the murder. You might wanna edit your post.

Good call..

THX Frankie.

ChiefsFan4Life

01-04-2008, 11:26 AM

Wow, I'm sorry, but that girl's mother is an IDIOT:

Peterson's mother heard her daughter come home around 10:30 p.m. Minutes later, the mother heard two abrupt screams from the backyard. She peered outside and saw the shadow of her daughter apparently wrestling with someone, but thought she might be fooling around. The mother checked outside and called her daughter's name. No one responded.

Skip Towne

01-04-2008, 11:43 AM

Good call..

THX Frankie.
That name is still in Dave Lane's post where he quoted you.

FAX

01-04-2008, 11:47 AM

That name is still in Dave Lane's post where he quoted you.

If I were a mod, I'd fix that right away.

FAX

morphius

01-04-2008, 11:54 AM

If I were a mod, I'd fix that right away.

FAX
and if you are not, you could report the post with the message of cleaning out the name of the innocent guy...

FAX

01-04-2008, 11:59 AM

and if you are not, you could report the post with the message of cleaning out the name of the innocent guy...

Why didn't I think of that?

I've never reported a post that I can remember. This would have been an excellent opportunity. My bad.

FAX

Skip Towne

01-04-2008, 01:07 PM

I'm guessing the new evidence is DNA related. DNA testing was not available in 1975.

Joe Seahawk

01-04-2008, 01:20 PM

According to this article there is no DNA link.

This could be a tough one to prosecute.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2004087253&zsection_id=2003925728&slug=coldcase22m&date=20071222

Man charged with murder of teen after 30-plus years

By Jennifer Sullivan
Seattle Times staff reporter

Friends say James Groth has looked over his shoulder for nearly 33 years, worried that yet another detective would step forward with a question about the killing of his childhood neighbor.

Groth, then 16, was interviewed hours after Diana Peterson's father found his 16-year-old daughter stabbed to death in the backyard of their Innis Arden home in February 1975. He failed a polygraph test shortly thereafter, and another in May 2006.

On Friday, after continued investigation by cold-case detectives, Groth, 49, was charged with first-degree murder. The Seattle fisherman was just three days away from walking out of the King County Jail after serving eight months for domestic violence, according to his girlfriend.

"It's a relief," Peterson's brother, John, said of Friday's charge. "We all think about her a lot."

King County sheriff's spokesman John Urquhart attributes the charge to more than a year of work by a new batch of detectives and prosecutors.

He said there is no DNA link that led them to believe Groth is responsible for the slaying.

Groth and Peterson were classmates at the former Shoreline High School. Investigators say he was infatuated with her and made lewd comments about her behind her back. Peterson had also accused him of peeping into her window, according to charging documents.

On the night of Feb. 14, 1975, Peterson, a friend and Groth sat in the basement of the Peterson home watching TV. Peterson's mother agreed to let the girl join a group of friends for pizza as long as she returned home within an hour, court papers said.

For some reason, Groth stayed behind.

Shortly after Peterson arrived home, her mother heard two screams from the backyard, court papers said. Leanne Peterson looked outside and saw what appeared to be two shadows "wrestling." She opened the door and yelled her daughter's name five times, but when she heard no response, she closed the door.

"The yard light went on and I heard a scream," Leanne Peterson said in a 2002 interview with The Seattle Times. "I yelled out the window and told her to be quiet."

Leanne Peterson said she thought her daughter was "just fooling around."

The girl's bedroom was empty when her mother checked it at 12:20 a.m., court papers said.

About 6 the next morning, George Peterson found his daughter dead in the yard.

Family members recall Peterson, known as "Dinah," as fiercely independent and sometimes rebellious. The middle of the Petersons' nine children, she excelled in her high-school cooking class. On the night she died, she baked two pie crusts, pricking patterns that spelled "Welcome all strangers" and "Smile, God loves you." The second phrase is on her headstone, her family said.

Soon after the slaying, the Petersons moved to what is now the Richmond Beach neighborhood of Shoreline.

After failing his first polygraph test, court papers said, Groth told detectives that he saw Peterson's body in the backyard that night, with a knife in her back. Groth said he recognized the knife as belonging to Peterson's boyfriend.

King County sheriff's detectives also interviewed other teens in the neighborhood, including Peterson's boyfriend, but the trail ended.

When cold-case detectives picked the case up in 2006, Groth was a key person of interest, Urquhart said. Groth denied any involvement until detectives spoke with him again Tuesday.

During this most recent interview, he didn't deny any connection with Peterson's death. He said that he and Peterson fought physically just before her death but said it wasn't unusual since they would often "tussle," court papers said.

Kathryn Wetzler, who has dated Groth for more than four years, said he told her that he didn't kill Peterson. After talking to detectives in 2006, she said, Groth thought he was finally cleared as a suspect.

"He wouldn't do something like this," she said. "He said they were just good friends."

Wetzler said Groth is in jail for being verbally abusive toward her. But she blames herself for his arrest and said she never wanted him locked up.

"He is the nicest person in the world," she said.

Seattle Times Assistant Metro Editor Ian Ith, a former Times reporter, contributed to this story.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company

Coogs

01-04-2008, 02:18 PM

Wetzler said Groth is in jail for being verbally abusive toward her. But she blames herself for his arrest and said she never wanted him locked up.

"He is the nicest person in the world," she said.

:rolleyes:

Bet you all feel bad that you are not as nice as this dude! :)

REDHOTGTO

01-04-2008, 02:29 PM

i'm glad for you getting this guy caught was great, i can feel your pain a good friend of mine was killed on thanksgiving day and it took 8 yrs to arrest anyone on charges, lots of suspects but finnally caught him (already in jail for another charge) and matched DNA against this case !

Frankie

01-05-2008, 05:29 PM

Good call..

THX Frankie.
YAW. I see everything is taken care of. Now for a mere coupla grans I will painfully withstand my incredible urge to let the guy know.
;) :p

Oh Brother

01-28-2008, 11:37 AM

Chiefsfan4life, your post #18 shows your an Idiot!!! You obviously know nothing about this girl, her Mother, the circumstances, or any of the other details of this case. You have no right to call anyone an idiot under these circumtances.

ChiefsFan4Life

01-28-2008, 11:50 AM

Oh Brother

01-28-2008, 11:52 AM

Then your moms an idiot for not having an abortion

ChiefsFan4Life

01-28-2008, 11:54 AM

Then your moms an idiot for not having an abortion

Wow you're so tough! lol

Read that quote. And then explain to me how in that situation you DO NOT further investigate the situation. I demand to be entertained.

patteeu

01-28-2008, 12:07 PM

Wow you're so tough! lol

Read that quote. And then explain to me how in that situation you DO NOT further investigate the situation. I demand to be entertained.

You ought to leave him/her alone. (S)he's probably much closer to this case than you are and it may be personal for him/her.

Joe Seahawk

01-28-2008, 12:12 PM

The guy pleaded Not guilty.. (damn! is it pleaded or plead?)

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/346671_coldcase10.html

Hydrae

01-28-2008, 12:14 PM

The guy pleaded Not guilty.. (damn! is it pleaded or plead?)

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/346671_coldcase10.html

Pled? :shrug:

vailpass

01-28-2008, 12:15 PM

33 years ago? Get over it. Was she hot?

Oh Brother

01-28-2008, 12:30 PM

Iowanian

01-28-2008, 12:45 PM

33 years ago? Get over it. Was she hot?

I don't think this is something to be a prick about.

It doesn't take a genius to realize there are people close to this situation in the thread and use a little Couth. If it was my sister or child, I doubt I'd be "over it" in 30 years.

Anyone who has every been around HS girls knows they squeal, and scream, shout, yell, and make all kinds of belligerent noises as part of their every day interaction with their friends. I can see how it happend.

ChiefsFan4Life

01-28-2008, 12:54 PM

Chiefsfan, There is a childrens story about a boy who cried wolf. You should read it sometime. tells the story of a young shepard who keeps falsley alerting the towns people of a wolf attack. Eventually the towns people ignored the young boy, even when a wolf actually attacking. Diana had a heart of gold, and would do anything for anyone, but It was not unusual for Diana to scream, she had a habit of throwing tantrums. You just learned to shut it out. Her mom is a highly intelligent woman. She was just at wits end on what do do with an out of control daughter. She has lived with and regretted her decision for almost 33 years now.

I understand what you're saying and now I know why you took it so personally. However, you have to understand that as an outsider, reading that part of the story, not knowing anything else, it was natural for me to react the way I did. I didn't know the background obviously, and that is why I commented the way I did. I apologize, and retract my previous statement. While I still think it is slightly odd considering those events to not do a follow up, I understand the extenuating circumstances.

vailpass

01-28-2008, 01:15 PM

ShortRoundChief

01-28-2008, 01:19 PM

You going soft on us? You will never be allowed to join Anonymous if you start wearing a skirt.

you have the great potential to be an all time ignorant prick

you thus far have been consistent but you need more time in the league to be voted in the hall of fame

vailpass

01-28-2008, 01:20 PM

you have the great potential to be an all time ignorant prick

you thus far have been consistent but you need more time in the league to be voted in the hall of fame

Clean him up a little and give him some big boys clothes and now he thinks he can label his betters as 'ignorant'.
It's cute, isn't it?

Duck Dog

01-28-2008, 01:22 PM

I don't think this is something to be a prick about.

It doesn't take a genius to realize there are people close to this situation in the thread and use a little Couth. If it was my sister or child, I doubt I'd be "over it" in 30 years.

Anyone who has every been around HS girls knows they squeal, and scream, shout, yell, and make all kinds of belligerent noises as part of their every day interaction with their friends. I can see how it happend.

I don't have a teenage girl but I do have a three year old girl and I can tell the difference when she screams while having fun and when she's got a boo boo. Two completely different sounds, both are loud and ear piercing but still different.

Regardless, I hope they can lock the POS up.

Simply Red

01-28-2008, 01:27 PM

Clean him up a little and give him some big boys clothes and now he thinks he can label his betters as 'ignorant'.
It's cute, isn't it?
In all actuality; I think you get treated good over here. Much better than I get treated over there and I'm even more polite than you. ;)

Duck Dog

01-28-2008, 01:28 PM

The guy pleaded Not guilty.. (damn! is it pleaded or plead?)

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/346671_coldcase10.html

She looks like my mom. A sweet little 'ol lady who has probably aged beyond her years because of this. I can't imagine living all those years with that kind of regret.

vailpass

01-28-2008, 01:33 PM

In all actuality; I think you get treated good over here. Much better than I get treated over there and I'm even more polite than you. ;)

Hey Red,
Happy '08.
Yes I can't complain about my treatment here. If anything I find it hard to get people to bite when I'm looking for a good argument. Guess over the last 6 years my schtick is kind of known to most.

Sorry to hear they don't treat you well at the mange. I don't frequent that site so I wouldn't know how it goes.

Simply Red

01-28-2008, 01:35 PM

Hey Red,
Happy '08.
Yes I can't complain about my treatment here. If anything I find it hard to get people to bite when I'm looking for a good argument. Guess over the last 6 years my schtick is kind of known to most.

Sorry to hear they don't treat you well at the mange. I don't frequent that site so I wouldn't know how it goes.
You too. No Bronco Buff you and Listo, TJ, Atlas are all cool. But I guess I should expect it over there, even when I behave myself, which is always.

morphius

01-28-2008, 01:47 PM

I don't have a teenage girl but I do have a three year old girl and I can tell the difference when she screams while having fun and when she's got a boo boo. Two completely different sounds, both are loud and ear piercing but still different.

Regardless, I hope they can lock the POS up.
Not that it couldn't have started as one, and ended completely differently...

ShortRoundChief

01-28-2008, 02:11 PM

Clean him up a little and give him some big boys clothes and now he thinks he can label his betters as 'ignorant'.
It's cute, isn't it?

If you think you're a "better" then you're beyond ignorant you're just plain stupid. As far as "cleaning me up and give me some big boy clothes" I have no idea what you would be talking about.

Dartgod

01-28-2008, 02:25 PM

I don't think this is something to be a prick about.

It doesn't take a genius to realize there are people close to this situation in the thread and use a little Couth. If it was my sister or child, I doubt I'd be "over it" in 30 years.

Anyone who has every been around HS girls knows they squeal, and scream, shout, yell, and make all kinds of belligerent noises as part of their every day interaction with their friends. I can see how it happend.
You also have to consider that people's attitudes towards society as a whole are much different now than they were in 1975. When I was a pre-teen in the late 60's we'd roam the neighborhood until our curfew, never letting our parents know ahead of time where we would be. You would never see a responsible parent allowing that now days.

01-28-2008, 02:54 PM

33 years ago? Get over it. Was she hot?

I had a sister who was murdered 29 years ago. She was 13. You don't get over it.

I've seen people post some tasteless and cruel things on this board. I suppose that was as bad as any of them.

01-28-2008, 03:06 PM

I understand what you're saying and now I know why you took it so personally. However, you have to understand that as an outsider, reading that part of the story, not knowing anything else, it was natural for me to react the way I did. I didn't know the background obviously, and that is why I commented the way I did. I apologize, and retract my previous statement. While I still think it is slightly odd considering those events to not do a follow up, I understand the extenuating circumstances.

I can guarantee you that every single friend and family member of that girl has regretted or wondered about something they did or didn't do or something they said or didn't say. Not just on the night she was killed but also over the days and weeks leading up to her death. I doubt that her mother has had even a singly day in the past 33 years that she hasn't thought, "If only I had......".

vailpass

01-28-2008, 03:06 PM

If you think you're a "better" then you're beyond ignorant you're just plain stupid. As far as "cleaning me up and give me some big boy clothes" I have no idea what you would be talking about.

'Ignorant' and 'stupid' all in the same post. Stop, please, you're giving me a complex. :LOL:

ShortRoundChief

01-28-2008, 03:09 PM

'Ignorant' and 'stupid' all in the same post. Stop, please, you're giving me a complex. :LOL:

you sure are funny

funny, funny, funny

vailpass

01-28-2008, 03:11 PM

I had a sister who was murdered 29 years ago. She was 13. You don't get over it.

I've seen people post some tasteless and cruel things on this board. I suppose that was as bad as any of them.

Sorry about your sister.