Death Penalty Trial Begins for Pooroushasb “Peter” Parineh in 2010 CA Slaying of Parima Parineh

[Heidi]

The three grown children of a Woodside man charged with murdering his wife for insurance money believe she survived for some period of time after he “willfully and maliciously” shot her twice in the head, according to a wrongful death suit filed on their behalf.

The suit filed April 11 in San Mateo County Superior Court against Pooroushasb “Peter” Parineh, came just shy of the anniversary of the April 13, 2010 death of his wife, Parima. The children — sons Austiag Hormoz Parineh and Khashayar Parineh and daughter Austiaj Parineh — are seeking damages for their mother’s death, her property which they say was destroyed and funeral expenses. The suit also requests punitive damages to punish Parineh and argue they’ve been damaged by the death through the loss of their mother’s love and comfort.

The Parineh children’s attorneys said they do not comment on pending litigation.

Parineh, 66, is set to stand trial Oct. 1 and potentially faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted of first-degree murder and the special allegation of murder for financial gain. He has pleaded not guilty and a decision on the death penalty has yet to be made, said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Parima Parineh, 56, was shot twice in the head in the bedroom of the couple’s multi-million dollar home on Fox Hill Road in Woodside. At a preliminary hearing last fall, the prosecution argued Parineh stood to benefit from a $31 million life insurance policy and, outside court, said he also had a longtime mistress.

Parineh allegedly gave authorities differing stories; once, he said he found his wife dead and another time, that he found her wounded and finished the job at her request. Criminalists said none of the four shots could have been self-inflicted. The gun was the only weapon of Parineh’s not confiscated earlier by law enforcement after his wife allegedly tried to commit suicide.

At the time of his wife’s death, Parineh was $13 million to $14 million in debt and his life of foreclosures included the Fox Hill home and several properties scattered throughout the state, including Byron, Hayward, Sunnyvale and Dixon. His wife had a number of life insurance policies totaling $31 million but they had a lien against them and were about to end without payment.

Authorities arrested Parineh June 17, 2010 in Sunnyvale and he has been held since without bail.

Shortly after Parineh’s arrest, the District Attorney’s Office said the children were not being cooperative with the investigation but later said they provided statements. According to the civil suit, the children believe Parineh shot their mother, that she “survived the attack for some period of time before dying as a result” and that his purpose was to benefit financially from certain life insurance payouts.

Parima Parineh was raised in Tehran, Iran and moved to the United States when she was 22. She was an artist working in multiple media.

http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articl...title=Children sue dad for their mom’s death


Woodside death now a homicide
Apr 20, 2010 ... The victim has been identified as Parima Parineh who lived at the residence with her husband, Pooroushasb (Peter) Parineh, and two adult ...
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articl...d=129503&title...






Husband arrested for wife’s Woodside murder
Jun 18, 2010 ... Pooroushasb “Peter” Parineh was arrested at approximately 3 p.m. Thursday, June 17 for the murder of his wife, Parima Parineh. Parineh ...
smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=133966&title...


Another delay in Woodside wife killing case
Jan 6, 2011 ... Pooroushasb “Peter” Parineh, 65, was scheduled to pick a preliminary hearing date yesterday. Instead, his defense team asked for more time ...
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articl...d=149797&title...


Woodside man pleads not guilty to killing wife
Nov 3, 2011 ... Pooroushasb Parineh, known as Peter, is charged with first-degree murder, the use of a gun and the special allegation of murder for financial ...
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articl....php?id=221760

[KarmaBaby]

The only money is the insurance policy. Pooroushasb stole money from his brother and during that time his wife tried to kill herself once already, ...he was desperate already. He may be nuts and he very well might have or might not have killed Parima, but those kids had the same motive that their father did and in their sick way, they tell themselves they truly loved Parima when all they ever loved was money. They are all nasty pieces of work, Their dad will get the blame and they won't get any money. I have known both Pooroushasb and his brother for the last 25 years. His brother is a good man with a wonderful family while Pooroushasb and his whole family are all screwed up. BAD screwed up! Khashayer is a nasty one and who loved guns as much as his father and then there is his older brother, a lawyer who is too dumb to see that the insurance money will be eaten by the debtors and like all liars, they have already been caught. Their sister is a tool for the brothers that she will do and say what ever they want. So much drama there that you could make a movie.

[Heidi]

Woodside Man Accused of Murdering Wife Takes Stand

A Woodside man who is on trial for allegedly murdering his wife to cash in on $30 million worth of insurance money admitted he faced financial ruin in the days before her death.

Pooroushash "Peter" Parineh, 67, took the witness stand today in his own defense in San Mateo County Superior Court.

Wearing a dark gray suit and blue tie, Parineh said his real estate holdings before 2007 were worth an estimated $150 million, but by early 2010, they had plummeted in value and were worth only a few million dollars.

Five properties -- including the family home in an exclusive neighborhood in Woodside -- were in foreclosure, Parineh said.

"I never thought that the real estate market was going to crash," he said.

Parineh had borrowed more than $650,000 in short-term emergency loans from friends, which he had no immediate way to pay back, he said. A bank that had underwritten more than $30 million worth of life insurance policies in his wife Parima's name was threatening to recall the cash and
nullify them at any moment, Parineh said.

"No other bank was going to refinance those loans, right?" Deputy District Attorney Jeff Finigan asked.

"No," Parineh said. "I was waiting for everything to work out."

Finigan asked Parineh if he had any other potential source of income in April 2010 besides getting his wife's insurance money or face bankruptcy at age 65.

"No," he said.

Parineh said his wife shot herself in the head April 13, 2010. The defendant said he returned home from the gym late in the afternoon and discovered her body in the master bedroom of their Woodside mansion.

There were two bullet wounds in her head.

"I saw her blood," Parineh said, fighting back tears. "I touched her forehead."

Prosecutors argue that neither gunshot could have been self-inflicted, that both would have been fatal and that Parineh made the death look like suicide to benefit from the victim's insurance policies.

Defense Attorney Dek Ketchum argued that Parima suffered from depression in the months leading up to her death, and that she killed herself to save her family.

"Do you feel you had a role in your wife's suicide?" Kechum asked.

"What do you think? Yes," Parineh said.

Parineh could face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted.

http://redwoodcity-woodside.patch.co...fe-takes-stand