By Joshua Melvin
San Mateo County Times
Posted: 06/18/2010 10:25:05 AM PDT
Updated: 06/18/2010 11:08:14 PM PDT
A Woodside man facing financial troubles is scheduled to be arraigned Monday, accused of murdering his wife in the couple's multimillion-dollar home in April, officials said.
Pooroushasb "Peter" Parineh, 64, was arrested about 3 p.m. Thursday near Mathilda and Olive avenues in Sunnyvale, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. He is being held without bail at the San Mateo County Jail.
His wife, Parima Parineh, 56, was shot to death at 50 Fox Hill Road near Woodside in unincorporated San Mateo County on April 13. Peter Parineh called police to report her death that evening and said she had killed herself, but evidence, including the fact that she had been shot twice in the head, led investigators to rule her death a homicide.
Police seized a handgun the night of her death, but authorities have declined to disclose any details about the ballistics tests performed on it.
Peter Parineh was not immediately available for comment Friday and one of his two adult children did not respond to an e-mail seeking a statement. Those children shared the home with their parents, and although they cooperated initially with the investigation, they quickly stopped talking to investigators, police said.
Police haven't revealed possible motives, but the Parinehs were having financial problems. The Parinehs didn't appear to be facing bankruptcy, but their Fox Hill home was in foreclosure, police said. The property tax on that house,
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which they bought in June 2002 for $5.1 million, had not been paid since December 2008, according to the San Mateo County Tax Collector's Office.
A wrought-iron gate in front of their driveway has been chained and locked with a hefty silver padlock, and no one answered the call box Friday afternoon.
Peter Parineh worked in real estate. He is listed on the business intelligence website Hoover's as the president of leasing company Austiaj Limited Partnership, and property records show the couple bought and sold properties all around the Bay Area. Parineh's real estate dealings led to the filing of at least one lawsuit. A February 2009 decision from the 5th District Court of Appeal upheld a lower court's judgment ordering him to pay $1.1 million as part of a deal gone wrong.
Parima Parineh, who police believe had a life insurance policy worth several million dollars, was a painter who came to the United States after graduating from college in her native Tehran, Iran, at age 22, according to a website about her art. Her paintings were widely exhibited and she won numerous awards from juried art shows. She also was a member of the Pastel Society of the West Coast.
Margot Schulzke, who is the founder and past president of the organization, said she was shocked by the killing and the arrest of Peter Parineh.
"It was certainly a loss to the community. She was a fine artist," said Schulzke, of Auburn. "It is tragic. I hope that justice will be done."
Police said Peter Parineh told them he was not at home at the time of his wife's death. But after San Mateo County Sheriff's deputies responded to his 911 call, he led them to a bedroom where her body lay. Investigators found a semi-automatic handgun and four bullet casings. He said she had killed herself.
Just a month before her death, police came to the residence and placed Parima Parineh in a hospital for a psychological evaluation, which authorities say initially lent credence to Peter Parineh's explanation.
Deputies also took guns away from her at the time of her hospitalization. The day before her death, she was served with papers informing her the Sheriff's Office was seeking the court's permission not to return the weapons.
Staff writer Diana Samuels contributed to this report.
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