Man Freed After 3rd Mistrial in Wife’s Death : Courts: Prosecutors say that for now they will not seek a fourth trial of Jeffrey Dale Peitz in 1994 Palmdale slaying.

After nearly a year in jail and three trials on charges that he murdered his wife, Jeffrey Dale Peitz, 39, of Palmdale walked out the front door of the Van Nuys courthouse Wednesday a free man.

Peitz had been charged in the 1994 killing of Teri Lynn Peitz, 37, who was murdered in their living room as she watched her favorite television show, “Cops.” Each trial ended in a hung jury. Peitz was released after prosecutors said they would not seek a fourth trial, at least not at this time.

As he left the courthouse shortly after 2 p.m., Peitz hugged his 17-year-old daughter, Michelle, and spoke about his immediate plans. “I want to get something to eat, some real food,” Peitz said, at first maintaining the almost stone-faced demeanor he showed during the trials. “All day,” he continued, showing a slight smile, “I’ve been craving a Del Taco burrito.”

His daughter was tearful. “It feels good to have him home,” she said as she stood next to her father.

Deputy Dist. Atty. John A. Portillo, who was the prosecutor in all three trials, said it is possible Peitz could be retried.

“If we come up with new evidence, we will prosecute him again. There is no statute of limitations on murder, so until the day he dies, this case will be hanging over his head,” Portillo said.

Peitz said he will not be returning to the Palmdale area to live. He will stay with his mother in Riverside for a while before deciding where to settle down.

Peitz told police that on the night of the murder, Aug. 12, 1994, he was upstairs in his house folding laundry when he heard two gunshots. He said he rushed downstairs in time to see an African American man running away.

But eight days after the shooting, Peitz was arrested on suspicion of murder. Prosecutors charged that he killed his wife because he was involved with another woman and because he wanted to collect on a $100,000 insurance policy. The murder weapon was never found.

All three trials had a majority of jurors voting for conviction. In the first trial, which ended in January, a jury deadlocked 9 to 3. In the second trial, ending in April, the split was 8 to 4 in favor of conviction, as it was last week when the third mistrial was declared.

In the aftermath of all three trials, some jurors said that a lack of physical evidence tying Peitz to the murder was enough to create reasonable doubt that he killed his wife.

Peitz, who said he hopes to return to his job as a letter carrier for the Postal Service, said the three trials have cost him his house in Palmdale, his savings and all proceeds from his wife’s life insurance policy. The insurance money went toward legal bills, he said.

Teri Peitz’s parents, Betty and Jack Wells of Riverside, sat through all three trials in Van Nuys.

Peitz “beat the system,” Jack Wells said. “It doesn’t take much when you have to have all 12 jurors come up with a guilty verdict.”